UXe  PRIDE  of 

JENNICO 


AGNES  AND 

EGERTON 
C  A.STLE 


THE  LIBRARY/^ 
OF       '/ 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

IN  MEMORY  OF 
MRS.  VIRGINIA  B.  SPORER 


MACMILLAN'S  STANDARD  LIBRARY 


THE   PRIDE  OF  JENNICO 


THE 


PRIDE  OF  JENNICO 

BEING 

A  Memoir  of  Captain  Basil  Jennico 


BY 


AGNES  AND   EGERTON   CASTLE 

AUTHORS   OF   "  THE  BATH   COMEDY,"   "  THE   STAR  DREAMER," 
"INCOMPARABLE  BELLAIRS,"  ETC. 


NEW   YORK 

GROSSET    &    DUNLAP 
PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT,  1897,  1898, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up,  electrotyped,  and  published  February,  1898.  Reprinted 
February,  April,  June  three  times,  July,  September,  October,  De- 
cember twice,  1898;  October,  1899. 

Special  edition  November,  1899;  February,  March,  April,  July, 
October  twice,  1900;  June,  1906. 

Special  edition  June,  twice,  1904 ;  March,  1905. 


JfcrtoooD  $rcss 

J.  8.  Cusning  &  Co.  — Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


THE  PRIDE  OF  JENNICO 


PART  I 

CHAPTER   I 

MEMOIR  OF  CAPTAIN  BASIL  JENNICO  (BEGUN,  APPARENTLY 
IN  GREAT  TROUBLE  AND  STRESS  OF  MIND,  AT  THE  CASTLE 
OF  TOLLENDHAL,  IN  MORAVIA,  ON  THE  THIRD  DAY  OF 

THE   GREAT   STORM,   LATE   IN   THE  YEAR    I77l) 

As  the  wind  rattles  the  casements  with  impo- 
tent clutch,  howls  down  the  stair-turret  with  the 
voice  of  a  despairing  soul,  creeps  in  long  irregu- 
lar waves  between  the  tapestries  and  the  granite 
walls  of  my  chamber  and  wantons  with  the  flames 
of  logs  and  candles ;  knowing,  as  I  do,  that  out- 
side the  snow  is  driven  relentlessly  by  the  gale, 
and  that  I  can  hope  for  no  relief  from  the  com- 
pany of  my  wretched  self, — for  they  who  have 
learnt  the  temper  of  these  wild  mountain  winds 
tell  me  the  storm  must  last  at  least  three  days 
more  in  its  fury,  —  I  have  bethought  me,  to  keep 


2042071 


2  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

from  going  melancholy  crazed  altogether,  to  set 
me  some  regular  task  to  do. 

And  what  can  more  fitly  occupy  my  poor  mind 
than  the  setting  forth,  as  clearly  as  may  be,  the 
divers  events  that  have  brought  me  to  this  strange 
plight  in  this  strange  place  ?  although,  I  fear  me, 
it  may  not  in  the  end  be  over-clear,  for  in  sooth  I 
cannot  even  yet  see  a  way  through  the  confusion 
of  my  thoughts.  Nay,  I  could  at  times  howl  in 
unison  with  yonder  dismal  wind  for  mad  regret; 
and  at  times  again  rage  and  hiss  and  break  myself, 
like  the  fitful  gale,  against  the  walls  of  this  deso- 
late house  for  anger  at  my  fate  and  my  folly ! 

But  since  I  can  no  more  keep  my  thoughts 
from  wandering  to  her  and  wondering  upon  her 
than  I  can  keep  my  hot  blood  from  running  — 
running  with  such  swiftness  that  here,  alone  in 
the  wide  vaulted  room,  with  blasts  from  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth  playing  a  very  demon's  dance 
around  me,  I  am  yet  all  of  a  fever  heat  —  I  will 
try  whether,  by  laying  bare  to  myself  all  I  know 
of  her  and  of  myself,  all  I  surmise  and  guess  of 
the  parts  we  acted  towards  each  other  in  this 
business,  I  may  not  at  least  come  to  some  under- 
standing, some  decision,  concerning  the  manner  in 
which,  as  a  man,  I  should  comport  myself  in  my 
most  singular  position. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  3 

Having  reached  thus  far  in  his  writing,  the 
scribe  after  shaking  the  golden  dust  of  the  pounce 
box  over  his  page  paused,  musing  for  a  moment, 
loosening  with  unconscious  fingers  the  collar  of 
his  coat  from  his  neck  and  gazing  with  wide  grey 
eyes  at  the  dancing  flames  of  the  logs,  and  the 
little  clouds  of  ash  that  ever  and  anon  burst  from 
the  hearth  with  a  spirt  when  particles  of  driven 
snow  found  their  way  down  the  chimney.  Pres- 
ently the  pen  resumed  its  travels: 

Everything  began,  of  course,  through  my  great- 
uncle  Jennico's  legacy.  Do  I  regret  it  ?  I 
have  sometimes  cursed  it.  Nevertheless,  although 
tossed  between  conflicting  regrets  and  yearnings, 
I  cannot  in  conscience  wish  it  had  not  come  to 
pass.  Let  me  be  frank.  Bitter  and  troubling  is 
my  lot  in  the  midst  of  my  lonely  splendour;  but 
through  the  mist  which  seems  in  my  memory  to 
separate  the  old  life  from  the  new,  those  days  of 
yesteryear  (for  all  their  carelessness  and  fancy- 
freedom)  seem  now  strangely  dull.  Yes,  it  is 
almost  a  year  already  that  it  came,  this  legacy,  by 
which  a  young  Englishman,  serving  hi  his  Royal 
and  Imperial  Majesty's  Chevau-Legers,  was  sud- 
denly transformed,  from  an  obscure  Rittmeister 
with  little  more  worldly  goods  than  his  pay,  into 


4  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

one  of  the  richest  landowners  in  the  broad  Empire, 
the  master  of  an  historic  castle  on  the  Bohemian 
Marches. 

It  was  indeed  an  odd  turn  of  fortune's  wheel. 
But  doubtless  there  is  a  predestination  in  such 
things,  unknown  to  man. 

My  great-uncle  had  always  taken  a  peculiar 
interest  in  me.  Some  fifty  years  before  my  birth, 
precluded  by  the  religion  of  our  family  from  any 
hope  of  advancement  in  the  army  of  our  own 
country,  he  had  himself  entered  the  Imperial  ser- 
vice; and  when  I  had  reached  the  age  of  man- 
hood, he  insisted  on  my  being  sent  to  him  in 
Vienna  to  enter  upon  the  same  career.  To  him 
I  owe  my  rapid  promotion  after  the  Turkish  cam- 
paign of  1769.  But  I  question,  for  all  his  influ- 
ence at  Court,  whether  I  should  have  benefited 
otherwise  than  through  his  advice  and  interest, 
had  it  not  been  for  an  unforeseen  series  of  moves 
on  the  part  of  my  elder  brother  at  home. 

One  fine  day  it  was  announced  to  us  that  this 
latter  had  been  offered  and  had  accepted  a  barony 
in  the  peerage  of  Great  Britain.  At  first  it  did 
not  transpire  upon  what  grounds  a  Catholic  gentle- 
man should  be  so  honoured,  and  we  were  obliged, 
my  uncle  and  I,  to  content  ourselves  with  the  im- 
possible explanation  that  "  Dear  Edmund's  value 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  5 

and  abilities  and  the  great  services  he  had  rendered 
by  his  exertions  in  the  last  Suffolk  Elections  had 
been  brought  to  the  notice  of  his  Majesty,  who  was 
thus  graciously  pleased  to  show  his  appreciation 
of  the  same." 

Our  good  mother  (who  would  not  be  the  true 
woman  she  is  did  she  not  set  a  value  on  the  hon- 
ours of  this  world),  my  excellent  brother,  and,  of 
course,  his  ambitious  lady,  all  agreed  that  it  was 
a  mighty  fine  thing  for  Sir  Edmund  Jennico  to  be- 
come My  Lord  Rainswick,  and  they  sent  us  many 
grandiloquent  missives  to  that  effect. 

But  with  my  great-uncle  things  were  vastly  dif- 
ferent. To  all  appearance  he  had  grown,  during 
the  course  of  his  sixty  odd  years  in  the  Imperial 
service,  into  a  complete  unmitigated  foreigner, 
who  spoke  English  like  a  German,  if,  indeed,  the 
extraordinary  jargon  he  used  (under  the  impression 
that  it  was  his  mother  tongue)  could  be  so  called. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  it  would  have  been  difficult  to 
say  what  tongue  was  my  great-uncle's  own.  It 
was  not  English  nor  French  —  not  even  the  French 
of  German  courts  —  nor  true  German,  but  the 
oddest  compound  of  all  three,  with  a  strong  pep- 
pering of  Slovack  or  Hungarian  according  as  the 
country  in  which  he  served  suggested  the  adjunc- 
tion. A  very  persuasive  compound  it  proved, 


6  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

however,  when  he  took  up  his  commanding  voice, 
poor  man !  But,  foreigner  as  he  was,  covered  as 
his  broad  chest  might  be  with  foreign  orders,  freely 
as  he  had  spent  his  life's  energy  in  the  pay  of  a 
foreign  monarch,  my  great-uncle  Jennico  had  too 
much  English  pride  of  race,  too  much  of  the  old 
Jennico  blood  (despite  this  same  had  been  so  often 
let  for  him  by  Bavarian  and  Hanoverian,  Prussian, 
French,  and  Turk),  to  brook  in  peace  what  he 
considered  a  slight  upon  his  grand  family  tradi- 
tions. 

Now  this  was  precisely  what  my  brother  had 
committed.  In  the  first  place  he  had  married  a 
lady  who,  I  hear,  is  amazingly  handsome,  and 
sufficiently  wealthy,  but  about  whose  lineage  it 
seems  altogether  unadvisable  to  seek  clear  infor- 
mation. Busy  as  he  was  in  the  midst  of  his  last 
campaign,  my  great-uncle  (who  even  in  the  wilds 
of  Bulgaria  seemed  to  keep  by  some  marvellous 
means  in  touch  with  what  moves  were  being  played 
by  the  family  in  distant  Suffolk)  nevertheless  had 
the  matter  probed.  And  the  account  he  received 
was  not  of  a  satisfactory  nature.  I  fear  me  that 
those  around  him  then  did  not  find  the  fierceness 
of  his  rule  softened  by  the  unwelcome  news  from 
that  distant  island  of  Britain. 

The  Jennicos,  although  they  had  been  degraded 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  7 

(so  my  uncle  maintained)  by  the  gift  of  a  paltry 
baronetcy  at  the  hands  of  Charles  II.,  as  a  reward 
for  their  bleeding  and  losses  in  the  Royal  cause, 
were,  he  declared,  of  a  stock  with  which  blood- 
royal  itself  might  be  allied  without  derogation. 
The  one  great  solace  of  his  active  life  was  a  recapit- 
ulation of  the  deeds,  real  or  legendary,  that,  since 
the  landing  of  the  Danes  on  Saxon  soil,  had  marked 
the  passage  through  history  of  those  thirty-one 
authentic  generations,  the  twenty-ninth  of  which 
was  so  worthily  represented  by  himself.  The 
worship  of  the  name  was  with  him  an  absolute 
craze. 

It  is  undoubtedly  to  that  craze  that  I  owe  my 
accession  of  fortune — ay,  and  my  present  desola- 
tion of  heart.  .  .  . 

But  to  resume.  When,  therefore,  already  dis- 
satisfied with  my  brother's  alliance,  he  heard  that 
the  head  of  the  family  proposed  to  engraft  upon  it 
a  different  name  —  a  soi-disant  superior  title  — 
his  wrath  was  loud  and  deep : 

"  Eh  quoi !  mille  millions  de  Donnerblitzen ! 
what  the  Teufel  idiot  think?  what  you  think?" 

I  was  present  when  the  news  arrived ;  it  was  in 
his  chancellerie  on  the  Josefsplatz  at  Vienna.  I 
shall  not  lightly  forget  the  old  man's  saffron  face. 

"  Does  that  Schaffkopf  brother  of  yours  not  ver- 


8  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

stand  what  Jennico  to  be  means  ?  what  thinkest 
thou  ?  would  I  be  what  I  am,  were  it  not  that  I 
have  ever  known,  boy,  what  I  was  geborn  to  when 
I  was  Jennico  geborn  ?  How  comes  it  that  I  am 
what  I  here  am  ?  How  is  it  gecome,  thinkest  thou, 
that  I  have  myself  risen  to  the  highest  honour 
in  the  Empire,  that  I  am  field-marshal  this  day, 
above  the  heads  of  your  princekins,  your  grand- 
dukeleins,  highnesses,  and  serenities  ?  Dummes 
Vieh  ! "  — with  a  parenthetical  shake  of  his  fist  at 
the  open  paper  on  his  desk  — "  how  is  it  gecome 
that  I  wedded  la  belle  He"ritiere  des  Woschutzski, 
the  most  beautiful  woman  in  Silesia,  the  richest, 
pardi !  the  noblest  ? "  And  his  Excellency  (me- 
thinks  I  see  him  now)  turned  to  me  with  sudden 
solemnity :  "  You  will  answer  me,"  he  said  in  an 
altered  voice,  "  you  will  answer  me  (because  you 
are  a  fool  youth),  that  I  have  become  great  general 
because  I  am  the  bravest  soldier,  the  cleverest 
commander,  of  all  the  Imperial  troops ;  that  I  to 
myself  have  won  the  lady  for  whom  Transpar- 
encies had  sued  in  vain  because  of  being  the 
most  beautiful  man  in  the  whole  Kaiserlich  ser- 
vice." 

Here  the  younger  Jennico,  for  all  the  vexation 
of  spirit  which  had  suggested  the  labour  of  his 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  9 

systematic  narrative  as  a  distraction,  could  not 
help  smiling  to  himself,  as,  with  pen  raised  towards 
the  standish,  he  paused  for  a  moment  to  recall  on 
how  many  occasions  he  had  heard  this  explanation 
of  the  Field-Marshal's  success  in  life.  Then  the 
grating  of  the  quill  began  afresh  : 

When  my  venerable  relative  came  to  this,  I, 
being  an  irreverent  young  dog,  had  much  ado  to 
keep  myself  from  a  great  yell  of  laughter.  He 
was  pleased  to  remark,  latterly,  in  an  approving 
mood,  that  I  was  growing  every  day  into  a  more 
living  image  of  what  he  remembered  himself  to 
have  been  in  the  good  times  when  he  wore  a 
cornet's  uniform.  I  should  therefore  have  felt 
delicately  flattered,  but  the  fact  is  that  the  tough 
old  soldier,  if  in  the  divers  accidents  of  war  he  had 
gathered  much  glory,  had  not  come  off  without  a 
fine  assortment  of  disfiguring  wounds.  The  ball 
that  passed  through  his  cheeks  at  Leuthen  had 
removed  all  his  most  ornamental  teeth,  and  had 
given  the  oddest  set  to  the  lower  part  of  his  coun- 
tenance. It  was  after  Kolin  that,  the  sight  of  his 
left  eye  being  suppressed  by  the  butt  end  of  a 
lance,  he  had  started  that  black  patch  which  im- 
parted a  peculiar  ferocity  to  his  aspect,  although 
it  seemed,  it  is  true,  to  sharpen  the  piercing  quali- 


IO  The  Pride  of  Jenmco 

ties  of  the  remaining  orb.  At  Hochkirch,  where 
he  culled  some  of  his  greenest  laurels,  a  Prussian 
bullet  in  his  knee  forced  on  him  the  companion- 
ship of  a  stout  staff  for  ever  afterwards.  He  cer- 
tainly had  been  known  in  former  days  as  U  beau 
Jennico,  but  of  its  original  cast  of  feature  it  is  easy 
to  conceive  that,  after  these  repeated  finishing 
touches,  his  countenance  bore  but  little  trace. 

"  But  no,"  the  dear  old  man  would  say,  baring 
his  desolate  lower  tusks  at  me,  and  fixing  me  with 
his  wild-boar  eye,  "  it  is  not  to  my  beauty,  Kerl, 
not  to  my  courage,  Kerl,  that  I  owe  success,  but 
because  I  am  geborn  Jennico.  When  man  Jen- 
nico  geborn  is,  man  is  geborn  to  all  the  rest — 
to  the  beauty,  to  the  bravery.  When  I  wooed 
your  late  dead  tante,  they,  mere  ignorant  Poles, 
said  to  me  :  '  It  is  well  You  are  honoured.  We 
know  you  honourable ;  but  are  you  born  ?  To 
wed  a  Countess  Woschutzski  one  must  be  born, 
one  must  show,  honoured  sir,'  they  said,  '  at  least 
seize  quartiers,  attested  in  due  proper  form.' 

"  '  Eh ! '  said  I,  '  is  that  all  ?  See  you,  you  shall 
have  sixteen  quarterings.  Sixteen  quarterings? 
Bah  !  You  shall  have  sixteen  quarterings  beyond 
that,  and  then  sixteen  again ;  and  you  shall  then 
learn  what  it  is  called  to  be  called  Jennico ! '  — 
Potztausend  !  —  And  I  simply  wrote  to  the  Office 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  II 

of  Heralds  in  London,  what  man  calls  College  of 
Arms,  for  them  to  look  up  the  records  of  Jennico 
and  draw  out  a  right  proper  pedigree  of  the  fam- 
ilie,  spare  no  cost,  right  up  to  the  date  of  King 
Knut!  Eh?  Oh,  ei,  ei!  Kerlchen!  You  should 
have  seen  the  roll  of  parchment  that  was  in  time 
gesendt —  Teremtttt 7  and  les  yeux  que  fit  monsieur 
mon  beau-ptre  [my  excellent  great-uncle  said  mon 
peau-btre]  when  they  were  geopened  to  what  it 
means  to  be  well-born  English !  A  well-born  man 
never  knows  his  blood  as  he  should,  until  he  sets 
himself  to  trace  it  through  all  the  veins.  Blood- 
royal,  yunker,  blood-royal !  Once  Danish,  two 
times  Plantagenet,  and  once  Stuart,  but  that  a 
strong  dose  —  he-he,  ei,  ei !  The  Merry  Monarch, 
as  the  school-books  say,  had  wide  paternity,  though 
--verstehts  sich  —  his  daughter  (who  my  gross- 
mutter  became)  was  noble  also  by  her  mother. 
Up  it  goes  high,  weit.  Thou  shalt  see  for  thyself 
when  thou  comest  to  Tollendhal.  Na,  ya,  and 
thou  shalt  study  it  too  —  it  all  runs  in  thine  veins 
also.  Forget  it  not !  .  .  .  And  of  all  her  treas- 
ures, your  aunt  would  always  tell  me  there  was 
none  she  prized  more  than  that  document  relating 
to  our  family.  She  had  it  unrolled  upon  her  bed 
when  she  could  no  longer  use  her  limbs,  and  she 
used  to  trace  out,  crying  now  and  then,  the  poor 


12  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

soul,  what  her  boy  would  have  carried  of  honour  if 
he  had  lived.  Ah,  'twas  a  million  pities  she  never 
bore  me  another !  —  'tis  the  only  reproach  that  darf 
be  made  her.  ...  I  have  consoled  myself  hitherto 
with  the  thought  of  my  nephew's  youthling ;  but, 
Potzblitz,  this  Edmund,  now  the  head  of  our  family 
—  ach,  the  verdamned  hound  !  Tausend  Donnern 
and  Bomben!"  —  and  my  great-uncle's  guttural 
voice  would  come  rumbling,  like  gathering  thunder 
indeed,  and  rise  to  a  frightful  bellow  —  "  to  barter 
his  fine  old  name  for  the  verdamned  mummery  of  a 
Baron  Rainswick  —  Rainswick  ?  —  pooh  !  A  crea- 
tion of  this  Hanover  dog!  And  what  does  he 
give  on  his  side  to  drive  this  fine  bargain  ?  Na, 
na,  sprech  to  me  not :  I  mislike  it ;  nephew,  I  tell 
thee,  I  doubt  me  but  there  is  something  hinter  it 
yet. 

"  Nephew  Basil,"  he  then  went  on,  this  day  I 
speak  of,  "if  I  were  not  seventy-three  years  old 
I  would  marry  again  —  I  would,  to  have  an  heir, 
by  Heaven !  that  the  true  race  might  not  die  out ! " 

And  despite  his  wall-eye,  his  jaw,  his  game  leg, 
his  generally  disastrous  aspect,  I  believe  he  might 
have  been  as  good  as  his  threat,  his  seventy-and- 
three  years  notwithstanding.  But  what  really  de- 
terred him  from  such  a  rash  step  was  his  belief 
(although  he  would  not  gratify  me  by  saying  so) 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  13 

that  there  was  at  hand  as  good  a  Jennico  as  he 
could  wish  for,  and  that  one,  myself,  Basil.  And  he 
saw  in  me  a  purer  sproutling  of  that  noble  island 
race  of  the  north  that  he  was  so  fiercely  proud 
of,  than  he  could  have  produced  by  a  marriage 
with  a  foreigner.  For,  thorough  "  Imperial "  as 
he  now  was,  and  notwithstanding  his  early  foreign 
education  (which  had  begun  in  the  Stuart  regi- 
ments of  the  French  king),  the  dominant  thought 
in  the  old  warrior's  brain  was  that  a  very  law  of 
nature  required  the  gentle-born  sons  of  such  a 
country  to  be  honoured  as  leaders  among  foreign 
men.  And  great  was  the  array  of  names  he  could 
summon,  should  any  one  be  rash  enough  to  chal- 
lenge the  assertion.  Butlers  and  Lallys,  Brownes 
and  Jerninghams,  by  Gad !  Keiths  and  Dillons 
and  Berwicks,  morbleu !  Fermors,  Loudons,  and 
Lacys,  and  how  many  more  if  necessary ;  ay,  and 
Jennicos  not  the  least  of  them,  I  should  hope, 
teremtftt  I 

I  did  not  think  that  my  brother  had  bettered 
himself  by  the  change,  and  still  less  could  I  con- 
cur in  the  turn-coat  policy  he  had  thought  fit  to 
adopt  in  order  to  buy  from  a  Hanoverian  King 
and  a  bigoted  House  of  Lords  this  accession  of 
honour.  For  my  uncle  was  not  far  wrong  in  his 
suspicions,  and  in  truth  it  did  not  require  any 


14  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

strong  perspicacity  to  realise  that  it  was  not  for 
nothing  my  brother  was  thus  distinguished.  I 
mean  not  for  his  merits  —  which  amounts  to 
the  same  thing.  I  made  strong  efforts  to  keep 
the  tidings  of  his  cowardly  defection  from  my 
uncle.  But  family  matters  were  not,  as  I  have 
said,  to  be  hidden  from  Feldmarschall  Edmund 
von  Jennico.  I  believe  the  news  hastened  his 
dissolution.  Repeated  fits  of  anger  are  perni- 
cious to  gouty  veterans  of  explosive  temper.  It 
was  barely  three  weeks  after  the  arrival  of  the 
tidings  of  my  brother  having  taken  the  oaths  and 
his  seat  in  the  House  of  Lords  that  I  was  sum- 
moned by  a  messenger,  hot  foot,  from  the  little 
frontier  town  where  I  was  quartered  with  my 
squadron,  to  attend  my  great-uncle's  death-bed 
It  was  a  sixteen-hours'  ride  through  the  snow.  I 
reached  this  frowning  old  stronghouse  late  at 
night,  hastened  by  a  reminder  at  each  relay  ready 
prepared  for  me ;  hastened  by  the  servants  sta- 
tioned at  the  gate;  hastened  on  the  stairs,  at 
his  very  door,  the  door  of  this  room.  I  found 
him  sitting  in  his  armchair,  almost  a  corpse  al- 
ready, fully  conscious,  grimly  triumphant. 

"Thou  shalt  have  it  all,"  was  the  first  thing  he 
whispered  to  me  as  I  knelt  by  his  side.  His  voice 
was  so  low  that  I  had  to  bend  my  ear  to  his  mouth. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  15 

But  the  pride  of  race  had  never  seemed  to  burn 
with  brighter  flame.  "  Alles  ist  dein,  alles  .  .  . 
aber,"  and  he  caught  at  me  with  his  clawlike 
hand,  cold  already  with  the  very  chill  of  earth, 
"remember  that  thou  the  last  Jennico  bist. 
Royal  blood,  Kerlchen,  Knut,  Plantagenet,  Stuart 
.  .  .  noblesse  oblige,  remember.  Bring  no  rotu- 
riere  into  the  family." 

His  heiduck,  who  had  endured  his  testy  temper 
and  his  rigid  rule  for  forty  years,  suddenly  gave 
a  kind  of  gulp,  like  a  sob,  from  behind  the  chair 
where  he  stood,  rigid,  on  duty  at  his  proper  post, 
but  with  his  hands,  instead  of  resting  correctly 
on  hip  and  sword-handle,  joined  in  silent  prayer. 
A  striking-looking  man,  for  all  his  short  stature, 
with  his  extraordinary  breadth  of  shoulders,  his 
small  piercing  eyes,  his  fantastically  hard  features 
all  pock-seared,  that  seemed  carved  out  of  some 
swarthy,  worm-eaten  old  oak. 

"  Thou  fool ! "  hissed  my  uncle,  impatiently 
turning  his  head  at  the  sound,  and  making  a 
vain  attempt  to  seek  the  ever-present  staff  with 
his  trembling  fingers.  "  Basil,  crack  me  the 
knave  on  the  skull."  Then  he  paused  a  moment, 
looked  at  the  clock  and  said  in  a  significant  way, 
"  It  is  time,  Janos." 

The  heiduck  instantly  moved  and  left  the  room, 


1 6  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

to  return  promptly,  ushering  in  a  number  of  the 
retainers  who  had  evidently  been  gathered  to- 
gether and  kept  in  attendance  against  my  arrival. 

They  ranged  themselves  silently  in  a  row  be- 
hind Janos ;  and  the  dying  man  in  a  feeble  voice 
and  with  the  shadow  of  a  gesture  towards  me, 
but  holding  them  all  the  while  under  his  piercing 
look,  said  two  or  three  times : 

"Your  master,  men,  your  master."  Where- 
upon, Janos  leading  the  way,  every  man  of 
them,  household-steward,  huntsmen,  overseers, 
foresters,  hussars,  came  forward,  kissed  my  hand, 
and  retired  in  silence. 

Then  the  end  came  rapidly.  He  wandered  in 
his  speech  and  was  back  in  the  past  with  dead 
and  gone  comrades.  At  the  very  last  he  rallied 
once  more,  fixed  me  with  his  poor  eye  that  I 
had  never  seen  dim  before,  and  spoke  with  con- 
sciousness : 

"Thou,  the  last  Jennico,  remember.  Be  true. 
Tell  the  renegade  I  rejoice,  his  shame  striketh  not 
us.  Tell  him  that  he  did  well  to  change  his  name. 
Kerlchen,  dear  son,  thou  art  young  and  strong, 
breed  a  fine  stock.  No  roture !  but  sell  and 
settle  .  .  .  sell  and  settle." 

Those  words  came  upon  his  last  sigh.  His  eye 
flashed  once,  and  then  the  light  was  extinguished. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  17 

Thus  he  passed.  His  dying  thought  was  for 
the  worthy  continuance  of  his  race.  I  found 
myself  the  possessor,  so  the  tabellions  informed 
me  some  days  later,  of  many  millions  (reckoned 
by  the  florins  of  this  land)  besides  the  great  prop- 
erty of  Tollendhal  —  fertile  plains  as  well  as  wild 
forests,  and  of  this  same  isolated  frowning  castle 
with  its  fathom-thick  walls,  its  odd  pictures  of 
half-savage  dead  and  gone  Woschutzskis,  its  an- 
tique clumsy  furniture,  tapestries,  trophies  of 
chase  and  war;  master,  moreover,  of-  endless 
tribes  of  dependants :  heiducks  and  foresters ; 
females  of  all  ages,  whose  bare  feet  in  summer 
patter  oddly  on  the  floors  like  the  tread  of  animals, 
whose  high-boots  in  winter  clatter  perpetually  on 
the  stone  flags  of  stairs  and  corridors ;  serf -peas- 
ants, factors,  overseers;  the  strangest  mixture  of 
races  that  can  be  imagined :  Slovacks,  Bohemians, 
Poles,  to  labour  on  the  glebe ;  Saxons  or  Austrians 
to  rule  over  them  and  cypher  out  rosters  and  re- 
turns ;  Magyars,  who  condescend  to  manage  my 
horseflesh  and  watch  over  my  safety  if  nothing 
else;  the  travelling  bands  of  gipsies,  ever  chang- 
ing but  never  failing  with  the  dance,  the  song  and 
the  music,  which  is  as  indispensable  as  salt  to  the 
life  of  that  motley  population. 

And  I,  who  in  a  more  rational  order  of  things 
c 


1 8  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

might  have  been  leading  the  life  of  a  young  squire 
at  home,  became  sovereign  lord  of  all,  wielding 
feudal  power  over  strings  of  vassals  who  deemed  it 
great  honour  to  bend  the  knee  before  me  and  kiss 
my  hand. 

No  doubt,  in  the  beginning,  it  was  vastly  fine ; 
especially  as  so  much  wealth  meant  freedom.  For 
my  first  act,  on  my  return  after  the  expiration  of 
my  furlough,  was  to  give  up  the  duties  of  regi- 
mental life,  irksome  and  monotonous  in  these 
piping  days  of  peace.  Then  I  must  hie  me  to 
Vienna,  and  there,  for  the  first  time  of  my  life  of 
six-and-twenty  years,  taste  the  joy  of  indepen- 
dence. In  Vienna  are  enough  of  dashing  sparks 
and  beautiful  women,  of  princes  and  courtiers, 
gamblers  and  rakes,  to  teach  me  how  to  spend 
some  of  my  new-found  wealth  in  a  manner  suitable 
to  so  fashionable  a  person  as  myself. 

But  how  astonishingly  soon  one  accustoms  one- 
self to  luxury  and  authority !  It  is  but  three 
months  ago  that,  having  drained  the  brimming 
cup  of  pleasure  to  the  dregs,  I  found  its  first 
sweetness  cloying,  its  first  alluring  sparkle  almost 
insufferable ;  that,  having  basked  in  perpetual 
smiles,  I  came  to  weary  of  so  much  favour.  Win- 
ning at  play  had  no  fascination  for  a  man  with 
some  thirty  thousand  pounds  a  year  at  his  back ; 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  19 

and  losing  large  slices  of  that  patrimony  which 
had,  I  felt,  been  left  me  under  an  implied  trust, 
was  dully  galling  to  my  conscience.  I  was  so  uni- 
formly fortunate  also  in  the  many  duels  in  which  I 
was  involved  among  the  less  favoured  —  through 
the  kindness  which  the  fair  ladies  of  Vienna  and 
Bude  began  to  show  to  le  beau  Jennico  (the  old 
dictum  had  been  revived  in  my  favour)  —  that 
after  disabling  four  of  my  newly-found  "best 
friends,"  even  so  piquant  an  entertainment  lost 
all  pretence  of  excitement. 

And  with  the  progress  of  disillusion  concerning 
the  pleasure  of  idleness  in  wealth,  grew  more 
pressing  the  still  small  voice  which  murmured  at 
my  ear  that  it  was  not  for  such  an  end,  not  for 
the  gratification  of  a  mere  libertine,  gambler,  and 
duellist,  that  my  great-uncle  Jennico  had  selected 
me  as  the  depositary  of  his  wealth  and  position. 

"Sell  and  settle,  sell  and  settle."  The  old 
man's  words  had  long  enough  been  forgotten.  It 
was  high  time  to  begin  mastering  the  intricacies 
of  that  vast  estate,  if  ever  I  was  to  turn  it  to  the 
profit  of  that  stream  of  noble  Jennicos  to  come. 
And  in  my  state  of  satiety  the  very  remoteness  of 
my  new  property,  its  savageness,  its  proud  isola- 
tion, invested  it  with  an  odd  fascination.  From 
one  day  to  the  other  I  determined  on  departure, 


2O  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

and  left  the  emptiness  of  the  crowd  to  seek  the 
fulness  of  this  wild  and  beautiful  country. 

Here  for  a  time  I  tasted  interest  in  life  again ; 
knew  a  sort  of  well-filled  peace ;  felt  my  soul  ex- 
pand with  renewed  vigour,  keenness  for  work  and 
deeds,  hope  and  healthy  desire,  self-pride  and  satis- 
faction. Then  came  the  foolish  adventure  which 
has  left  me  naked  and  weak  in  the  very  midst  of 
my  wealth  and  power;  which  has  left  rudderless 
an  existence  that  had  set  sail  so  gaily  for  glorious 
happiness. 

The  bell  of  the  horologe,  from  its  snow-capped 
turret  overlooking  the  gate  of  honour  in  the 
stronghold  of  Tollendhal,  slowly  tolled  the  tenth 
hour  of  that  tempestuous  night ;  and  the  notes 
resounded  in  the  room,  now  strongly  vibrating, 
now  faint  and  distant,  as  the  wind  paused  for  a 
second,  or  bore  them  away  upon  its  dishevelled 
wing.  Upon  the  last  stroke,  as  Basil  Jennico 
was  running  over  the  last  page  of  his  fair  paper, 
the  door  behind  him,  creaking  on  its  hinges,  was 
thrown  open  by  Janos,  the  heiduck,  displaying  in 
the  next  chamber  a  wide  table,  lit  by  two  six- 
branched  chandeliers  and  laid  for  the  evening 
meal.  The  twelve  yellow  tongues  of  flame  glinted 
on  the  silver,  the  cut  glass,  and  the  snow-white 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  21 

napery,  but  only  to  emphasise  the  sombre  depth  of 
the  mediaeval  room,  the  desolate  eloquence  of  that 
solitary  seat  at  the  huge  board.  Janos  waited  till 
his  master,  with  weary  gesture,  had  cast  his  pen 
aside,  and  then  ceremoniously  announced  that  his 
lordship's  supper  was  ready. 

Impatiently  enough  did  the  young  man  dip  his 
fingers  in  the  aiguiere  of  perfumed  water  that  a 
damsel  on  his  right  offered  to  him  as  he  passed 
through  the  great  doors,  drying  them  on  the  cloth 
handed  by  another  on  his  left.  Frowning  he  sat 
him  down  in  his  high-backed  chair  behind  which 
the  heiduck  stood  ready  to  present  each  dish  as 
it  was  brought  up  by  other  menials,  to  keep  the 
beaker  constantly  filled,  to  answer  with  a  bow  any 
observation  that  he  might  make,  should  the  lord 
feel  disposed  to  break  silence. 

But  to-night  the  Lord  of  To-llendhal  was  less  dis- 
posed than  ever  in  such  a  direction.  He  chafed 
at  the  long  ceremony  ;  resented  the  presence  of 
these  creatures  who  had  seen  her  sit  as  their  mis- 
tress at  that  table,  where  now  lay  nought  but 
vacancy  beyond  the  white  cloth ;  resented  even 
the  silent  solicitude  that  lurked  in  Janos's  eyes, 
though  the  latter  never  broke  unauthorised  his 
rule  of  silence. 

The  generous  wine,  in   the   stillness   and  the 


22  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

black  solitude,  bred  presently  a  yet  deeper  melan- 
choly. After  a  perfunctory  meal  the  young  man 
waved  aside  a  last  glass  of  the  amber  Tokay  that 
was  placed  at  his  hand,  rose,  and  moodily  walked  to 
and  fro  for  some  time.  Feeling  that  the  coming 
hours  had  no  sleep  in  reserve  for  a  mind  in  such 
turmoil  as  his,  he  returned  to  his  writing-table, 
and,  whilst  Jdnos  directed  the  servants  to  bring  in 
and  trim  fresh  candles,  and  pile  more  logs  upon 
the  hearth,  Basil  Jennico  resumed  his  task. 


CHAPTER   II 

BASIL  JENNICO'S  MEMOIR  CONTINUED 

MY  great-uncle's  will,  forcible,  concise,  indispu- 
table as  it  was,  had  been  (so  the  man  of  law  in- 
formed me)  drawn  out  in  a  great  hurry,  dictated, 
indeed,  between  spasms  of  agony  and  rage.  (The 
poor  old  man  died  of  gout  in  his  stomach.) 
Doubtless,  had  he  felt  sure  of  more  time,  he 
would  have  burdened  the  inheritance  with  many 
directions  and  conditions. 

From  his  broken  utterances,  however,  and  from 
what  I  had  known  of  him  in  life,  I  gathered  a  fair 
idea  of  what  his  wishes  were.  His  fifty  years  of 
foreign  service  had  filled  him,  old  pandour  that  he 
seemed  to  have  become,  with  but  increased  con- 
tempt for  the  people  that  surrounded  him,  their 
ways  and  customs,  while  his  pride  as  an  English- 
man was  only  equalled  by  his  pride  as  a  Jennico. 

"  Sell  and  settle  .  .  ." 

The  meaning  of  the  words  was  clear  in  the  light 
of  the  man  as  I  knew  him.  I  was  to  sell  the 
great  property,  carry  to  England  the  vast  hoard  of 

23 


24  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

foreign  wealth,  marry  as  befitted  one  of  the  race, 
and  raise  a  new  and  splendid  line  of  Jennicos,  to 
the  utter  mortification,  and  everlasting  confusion, 
of  the  degenerate  head  of  the  house. 

Now,  though  I  knew  it  to  be  in  me,  and  felt  it, 
indeed,  not  otherwise  possible,  to  live  my  life  as 
true  a  Jennico  as  even  my  uncle  could  desire,  I  by 
no  means  deemed  it  incumbent  upon  me  to  set  to 
work  and  carry  out  his  plans  without  first  employ- 
ing my  liberty  and  wealth  as  the  humour  prompted 
me.  Nor  was  the  old  country  an  overpoweringly 
attractive  place  for  a  young  man  of  my  creed  and 
kidney.  In  Vienna  I  was,  perhaps,  for  the  mo- 
ment, the  most  noted  figure  —  the  guest  most 
sought  after  that  year.  In  England,  at  daggers 
drawn  with  my  brother,  I  could  only  play  an 
everyday  part  in  an  unpopular  social  minority. 

It  was  in  full  summer  weather  that,  as  I  have 
written,  already  tried  by  the  first  stage  of  my 
career  of  wealth,  I  came  to  take  possession  of  my 
landed  estates.  The  beauty  and  wildness  of  the 
scenery,  the  strangeness  of  the  life  in  the  well-nigh 
princely  position  to  which  this  sudden  turn  of 
fortune's  wheel  had  elevated  me,  the  intoxicating 
sensation  of  holding  sway,  as  feudal  lord  of  these 
wide  tracts  of  hill  and  plain,  over  so  many  hun- 
dreds of  lives  —  above  all,  the  wholesome  reaction 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  25 

brought  about  by  solitude  and  communion  with 
nature  after  the  turmoil  of  the  last  months  —  in 
short,  everything  around  me  and  in  me  made  me 
less  inclined  than  ever  to  begin  ridding  myself  of 
so  fair  a  possession. 

And  do  I  wish  I  had  not  thus  delayed  in  obey- 
ing the  injunction  that  accompanied  the  bequest? 
Odds  my  life !  I  am  a  miserable  dog  this  day 
through  my  disobedience ;  and  yet,  would  I  now 
undo  the  past  if  I  could  ?  A  thousand  times  no ! 
I  hate  my  folly,  but  hug  it,  ever  closer,  ever 
dearer.  The  bitter  savour  of  that  incomprehen- 
sible yearning  clings  to  the  place  :  I  would  not 
exchange  it  for  the  tameness  of  peace.  Weakling 
that  I  am,  I  would  not  obliterate,  if  I  could,  the 
memory  of  those  brief,  brief  days  of  which  I  failed 
to  know  the  price,  until  the  perversity  of  fate  cut 
their  thread  for  ever  —  ay,  perhaps  for  ever,  after 
all !  And  yet,  if  so,  it  were  wiser  to  quit  these 
haunted  walls  for  ever  also.  But,  God !  how 
meagre  and  livid  looks  wisdom,  the  ghost,  by  the 
side  of  love's  warm  and  living  line ! 

And  now,  on !  Since  I  have  put  my  hand  to 
the  task,  undertaken  to  set  forth  and  make  clear 
the  actual  condition  of  that  vacillating  puppet,  the 
new-fledged  Lord  of  Tollendhal,  I  will  not  draw  it 
back,  cost  me  what  pain  it  may. 


26  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

No  doubt  it  was  this  haunting  pride  of  wealth, 
waxing  every  day  stronger,  even  as  the  pride  of 
birth  which  my  great-uncle  had  fostered  to  such 
good  purpose,  the  overweening  conceit  which  they 
bred  within  me,  that  fogged  my  better  judgment 
and  brought  me  to  this  pass.  And  no  doubt, 
likewise,  it  is  a  princely  estate  that  these  lords 
of  Tollendhal  of  old  carved  for  themselves,  and 
rounded  ever  wider  and  nurtured  —  all  that  it 
should  some  day,  passing  through  the  distaff, 
come  to  swell  the  pride  of  Suffolk  Jennicos ! 

My  castle  rises  boldly  on  the  northernmost  spur 
of  the  Glatzer  Mounts,  and  defiantly  overlooks  the 
marches  of  three  kingdoms.  Its  lands  and  depen- 
dencies, though  chiefly  Moravian,  extend  over  the 
Bohemian  border  as  well  as  into  that  Silesia  they 
now  are  able  to  call  Prussian.  North  and  west  it 
is  flanked  by  woods  that  grow  wilder,  denser,  as 
they  spread  inwards  towards  the  Giant  Moun- 
tains. On  the  southern  slopes  are  my  vineyards, 
growths  of  note,  as  I  hear.  My  territories  reach, 
on  the  one  hand,  farther  than  can  be  seen  under 
the  blue  horizon,  into  the  Eastern  plains,  flat  and 
rich,  that  stretch  with  curious  suddenness  immedi- 
ately at  the  foot  of  the  high  district ;  upon  the 
other  hand,  on  the  Moravian  side,  I  doubt  whether 
even  my  head  steward  himself  knows  exactly  how 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  27 

much  of  the  timber-laden  hill-ranges  can  be  claimed 
as  appertaining  to  the  estate.  All  the  peaks  I  can 
descry  in  a  fine  day  from  these  casements  are 
mine,  I  believe ;  on  their  flanks  are  forests  as  rich 
in  game  —  boar  and  buck,  wolf  and  bear,  not  to 
speak  of  lesser  quarry  —  as  are  the  plains  below 
in  corn  and  maize  and  cattle  —  que  sais-jef  A 
goodly  heritage  indeed ! 

I  promised  myself  many  *  rare  day's  sport  so 
soon  as  the  time  waxed  ripe.  Meanwhile,  my 
days  were  spent  in  rambles  over  the  land,  under 
pretence  of  making  acquaintance  with  the  farms 
and  the  villages,  and  the  population  living  on  the 
soil  and  working  out  its  wealth  for  my  use,  but 
in  reality  for  the  enjoyment  of  delicious  sylvan 
and  rustic  idleness  through  which  the  memory  of 
recent  Viennese  dissipations  was  like  that  of  a 
fevered  dream. 

The  spirit  of  my  country-keeping  ancestors 
lived  again  within  me  and  was  satisfied.  Yet 
there  were  times,  too,  when  this  freedom  of  fancy 
became  loneliness  —  when  my  eyes  tired  of  green 
trees,  and  my  ears  hungered  for  the  voice  of  some 
human  being  whom  I  could  meet  as  an  equal,  with 
whom  I  could  consort,  soul  and  wit.  Then  I 
would  resolve  that,  come  the  autumn,  I  would  fill 
the  frowning  stronghouse  with  a  rousing  throng 


28  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

of  gallant  hunters  and  fair  women  such  as  it  had 
never  seen  before.  Ay,  and  they  should  come 
over,  even  from  old  England,  to  taste  of  the  Jen- 
nico hospitality ! 

It  was  in  one  of  these  glorious  moods  that, 
upon  a  September  day,  sultry  as  summer,  al- 
though there  was  a  touch  of  autumn  decay  in  the 
air  as  well  as  in  the  tints  around  me,  I  sallied 
forth,  after  noon,  to  cramp  on  foot  an  as  yet  un- 
explored quarter  of  my  domain.  I  had  donned, 
according  to  my  wont  (as  being  more  suitable  to 
the  roughness  of  the  paths  than  the  smallclothes, 
skirted  coats,  high  heels  and  cocked  hat  of  Vien- 
nese fashion),  the  dress  of  the  Moravian  peasant 
—  I  gather  that  it  pleases  the  people's  heart  to 
see  their  seigneur  grace  their  national  garb  on 
occasions.  There  was  a  goodly  store  of  such  cos- 
tumes among  the  cupboards  full  of  hereditary 
habiliments  and  furs  preserved  at  Tollendhal, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  country,  with  the  care 
that  English  housewives  bestow  upon  their  stores 
of  linen.  My  peasant  suit  was,  of  course,  fine  of 
cloth  and  natty  of  cut,  and  the  symmetry  of  the 
handsome  figure  I  saw  in  my  glass  reminded  me 
more  of  the  pastoral  disguises  that  were  the 
courtly  fashion  of  some  years  back  than  of  our 
half-savage  ill-smelling  boors.  Thus  it  was  pleas- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  29 

ant  as  well  as  comfortable  to  wear,  and  at  that 
time  even  so  trifling  a  sensation  of  gratified  van- 
ity had  its  price.  But,  although  thus  freed  of  the 
incumbrance  of  a  gentleman's  attire,  I  could  not 
shake  off  the  watchful  tyranny  of  Janos,  the  sol- 
emn heiduck  who  never  allowed  me  to  stir  abroad 
at  all  without  his  escort,  nor,  indeed  (if  my  whim 
took  me  far  afield),  without  the  further  retinue 
of  two  jagers,  twin  brothers,  and  faithful  beyond  a 
doubt.  These,  carbine  on  shoulder,  and  hanger 
on  thigh,  had  their  orders  to  follow  their  lord 
through  thick  and  thin,  and  keep  within  sight  and 
sound  of  whistle. 

In  such  odd  style  of  state,  on  this  day,  destined 
to  begin  for  me  a  new  chapter  in  life,  I  took  my 
course ;  and  for  a  long  hour  or  so  walked  along 
the  rocky  cornice  that  overhangs  the  plains.  The 
land  looked  bare  and  wide  and  solitary,  the  fields 
lay  in  sallow  leanness  bereft  of  waving  crops,  but 
I  knew  that  all  my  golden  grain  was  stacked 
safely  in  the  heart  of  the  earth,  where  these  folk 
hoard  its  fruits  for  safety  from  fire.  The  air  was 
so  empty  of  human  sounds,  save  the  monotonous 
tramp  of  my  escort  behind  me,  that  all  the  mur- 
murs of  wind  and  foliage  struck  with  singular 
loudness  upon  my  ear.  Over  night,  there  had,  by 
my  leave,  been  songs  and  dancing  in  the  court- 


3O  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

yard  of  Tollendhal,  and  the  odd  tunes,  the  capri- 
cious rhythm  of  the  gipsy  musicians,  came  back 
upon  me  as  I  walked  in  the  midst  of  my  thoughts. 
These  melodies  are  fitful  and  plaintive  as  the 
sounds  of  nature  itself,  they  come  hurrying  and 
slackening,  rising  and  falling,  with  as  true  a  har- 
mony and  as  unmeasured  a  measure,  —  now  in  a 
very  passion  of  haste,  and  now  with  a  dreamy 
long-drawn  sigh.  I  was  thinking  on  this,  and  on 
the  love  of  the  Empress  for  that  music  (my  Em- 
press that  had  been  when  I  wore  her  uniform,  ay, 
and  my  Empress  still  so  long  as  I  retain  these 
noble  lands),  when  I  came  to  a  field,  sloping  from 
the  crag  towards  the  plain,  where  an  aftermath  of 
grass  had  been  left  to  dry.  There  was  a  little  belt 
of  trees,  which  threw  a  grateful  shade ;  and  feel- 
ing something  weary  I  flung  me  down  on  the 
scented  hay.  It  was  on  the  Silesian  portion  of 
my  land.  Against  the  horizon,  the  white  and 
brown  of  some  townlet,  clustering  round  the  ace- 
of-club-shaped  roof  of  its  church-tower,  rose  glit- 
tering above  the  blue  haze.  A  little  beyond  the 
field  ran  a  white  road.  So  I  reclined,  looking 
vaguely  into  the  unknown  but  inviting  distance, 
musing  on  the  extent  of  those  possessions  so  wide- 
spread that  I  had  not  as  yet  been  able  to  ride  all 
their  marches,  ever  and  anon  recognising  vaguely 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  31 

in  the  voice  of  the  breeze  through  the  foliage  an 
echo  of  the  music  that  had  been  haunting  my 
thoughts  all  day.  Everything  conspired  to  bring 
me  pleasant  fancies.  I  began  to  dream  of  past 
scenes  and  future  fortunes,  smiling  at  the  thought 
of  what  my  dashing  friends  would  say  if  they  saw 
le  beau  Jennico  in  this  bucolic  attitude,  wondering 
if  any  of  my  Court  acquaintances  would  recognise 
him  in  his  peasant  garb. 

Ah  me,  how  eternally  and  lovingly  I  thought 
of  my  proud  and  brilliant  self  then  !  .  .  . 

I  cannot  recall  how  soon  this  musing  became 
deep  sleep,  but  sleep  I  did  and  dream — a  singular, 
vivid  dream,  which  was  in  a  manner  a  continuation 
of  my  waking  thoughts.  I  seemed  to  be  at  a 
great  fete  at  the  Imperial  Palace,  one  of  the  count- 
less throng  of  guests.  The  lights  were  brilliant, 
blinding,  but  I  saw  many  faces  I  knew,  and  we 
all  were  waiting  most  eagerly  for  some  wonderful 
event.  No  one  was  speaking,  and  the  only  sounds 
were  the  rustling  and  brushing  of  the  ladies'  bro- 
cades and  the  jingle  of  the  officers'  spurs,  with 
over  and  above  the  wail  of  the  czimbalom.  All 
at  once  I  knew,  as  we  do  in  dreams,  what  we 
were  expecting,  and  why  this  splendid  feast  had 
been  prepared.  Marie  Antoinette,  the  fair  young 
Dauphine  of  France,  the  memory  of  whose  grace 


32  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

still  hangs  about  the  Court,  had  come  back  to  visit 
her  own  country.  The  crowd  grew  closer  and 
closer.  The  crowd  about  me  surged  forward  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  her  as  she  passed,  and  I  with 
the  rest,  when  suddenly  my  great-uncle  stood  be- 
fore me,  immensely  bestarred  and  beribboned  in 
his  field-marshal's  uniform,  and  with  the  black 
patch  on  his  eye  so  black  that  it  quite  dazzled  me. 

"Na,  Kerlchen,"  he  was  saying  to  me,  "thou 
hast  luck !  Her  Imperial  and  Royal  Highness  has 
chosen  the  young  Jennico  to  dance  with  ...  as 
the  old  one  is  too  old." 

Now  I,  in  common  with  the  young  men  about 
me,  have  grown  to  cherish  since  my  coming  to 
this  land  a  strange  enthusiasm  for  the  most 
womanly  and  beautiful  of  all  the  Empress's  daugh- 
ters, and  therefore,  even  in  my  dream,  my  heart 
began  to  beat  very  fast,  and  I  scarce  knew  which 
way  to  turn.  I  was  much  troubled  too  by  the 
music,  which  went  on  always  louder  and  quicker 
above  my  head,  somewhere  in  the  air,  for  I  knew 
that  no  such  things  as  country  dances  are  danced 
at  Court,  and  that  I  myself  would  make  but  a  poor 
figure  in  such ;  yet  a  peasant  dance  it  undoubtedly 
was.  Next,  my  uncle  was  gone,  and  though  I 
could  not  see  her,  I  knew  the  Princess  was  coming 
by  the  swish  of  her  skirt  as  she  walked.  I  heard 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  33 

her  voice  as  clear  as  a  silver  bell.  "Oh  est-il?" 
it  said,  and  I  felt  she  was  looking  for  me.  I  strug- 
gled in  vain  to  answer  or  turn  to  her,  and  the  voice 
cried  again :  "  Oil  est-il? "  upon  which  another 
voice  with  a  quaver  in  its  tones  made  reply :  "  Par 
id,  Altesse  !  " 

The  sound  must  have  been  very  close  to  me,  for 
it  startled  me  from  my  deep  sleep  into,  as  it  were, 
an  outer  court  of  dreams.  And  between  slumber 
and  consciousness  I  became  aware  that  I  was  lying 
somewhere  very  hot  and  comfortable ;  that,  while 
some  irresistible  power  kept  my  eyes  closed,  my 
ears  were  not  so,  and  I  could  hear  the  two  voices 
talking  together;  and,  in  my  wandering  brain  be- 
lieved them  still  to  belong  to  the  Princess  Marie 
Antoinette  and  her  attendant. 

"  It  is  a  peasant,"  said  the  first  voice :  that  was 
the  Princess  of  course.  There  was  something  of 
scorn  in  the  tone,  and  I  became  acutely  and  un- 
pleasantly conscious  of  my  red  embroidered  shirt. 
But  the  other  made  answer:  "He  is  handsome," 
and  then :  "  His  hands  are  not  those  of  a  peasant," 
and,  "  Regardez  ma  chere  ;  peasants  do  not  wear 
such  jewelled  watches!"  A  sudden  shadow  fell 
over  me  and  was  gone  in  an  instant.  There  was  a 
flicker  of  laughter  and  I  sat  up. 

During   my   sleep   the   shade   of  the   sun   had 


34  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

shifted  and  I  lay  in  the  full  glare,  and  so,  as  1 
opened  my  eyes,  I  could  see  nothing. 

I  heard  the  laughter  of  my  dream  again,  and  I 
knew  that  the  mocking  cry  of  "  Prencz  garde, 
Altes.se!"  that  still  rang  in  the  air  did  not  belong 
to  my  sleep.  But  as  I  rubbed  my  eyes  and  looked 
out  once  again,  I  caught  first  a  glimpse  of  a 
slender  creature  bending  over  me,  outlined  it 
seemed  in  fire  and  shimmering  between  black  and 
gold.  My  next  glance  filled  me  with  a  woeful  dis- 
appointment, for  I  declare,  what  with  my  dream 
and  my  odd  awakening,  I  expected  to  find  before 
me  a  beauty  no  less  bewitching  than  that  of  her 
Royal  Highness  herself.  What  I  beheld  was  but 
a  slim  slip  of  a  creature  who,  from  the  tip  of  her 
somewhat  battered  shepherdess  hat  to  the  hem  of 
her  loosely  hanging  skirts,  gave  me  an  impression 
of  being  all  yellow,  save  for  the  dark  cloud  of  her 
hair.  Her  skin  seemed  golden  yellow  like  old 
ivory,  her  eyes  seemed  to  shoot  yellow  sparks,  her 
gown  was  yellow  as  any  primrose.  As  she  bent 
to  watch  me,  her  lip  was  arched  into  a  smile ;  it 
had  a  deep  dimple  on  the  left  side.  Thus  I  saw 
her  in  a  sort  of  flash  and  scrambled  to  my  feet 
still  half  drunk  with  drowsiness,  crying  out  like 
a  fool : 

"  Oil  est  son  Altesse  ?     Oh,  est  son  Altesse  ?  " 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  35 

She  clapped  her  hands  and  turned  with  a  crow 
of  laughter  to  some  one  behind  me.  And  then  I 
became  aware  that,  as  in  the  dream,  there  were 
two.  I  also  turned. 

My  eyes  were  in  their  normal  state  again,  but 
for  a  moment  I  thought  myself  still  wandering. 
Here  was  her  Highness.  A  Princess,  indeed,  as 
beautiful  as  any  vision  and  yet  most  exquisitely 
embodied  in  the  flesh ;  a  Princess  in  this  wilder- 
ness !  It  seemed  a  thing  impossible,  and  yet  my 
eyes  now  only  corroborated  the  evidence  of  my 
ears. 

I  marked,  almost  without  knowing,  the  rope 
of  pearls  that  bound  her  throat  (I  had  become 
a  judge  of  jewels  by  being  the  possessor  of  so 
many).  I  marked  her  garments,  garments,  for  all 
their  intended  simplicity,  rich,  and  bearing  to  my 
not  untutored  observation  the  latest  stamp  of  fash- 
ion. But  above  all  I  marked  her  air  of  race,  her 
countenance,  young  with  the  first  bloom  of  youth, 
mantled  with  blushes  yet  set  with  a  royal  dignity. 

I  have,  since  that  eventful  day,  passed  through 
so  many  phases  of  feeling,  sweet  and  violent,  my 
present  sentiments  are  so  fantastically  disturbed, 
that  I  must  try  to  the  last  of  this  writing  and 
see  matters  still  as  I  saw  them  at  the  time.  Yes, 
beyond  doubt  what  I  noticed  most,  what  appealed 


36  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

to  me  most  deeply  then,  was  the  great  air  of  race 
blended  and  softened  by  womanly  candour  and 
grace.  She  looked  at  me  gravely,  with  wide  brown 
eyes,  and  I  stumbled  into  my  best  courtly  bow. 

"  He  wants  to  know,"  said  the  damsel  of  the 
yellow  skirts,  this  time  in  German,  the  clear,  clean 
utterance  of  which  had  nothing  of  the  broad  Aus- 
trian sounds  I  was  accustomed  to  hear — "he 
wants  to  know  'where  is  the  Highness?'  But  he 
seems  to  have  guessed  where  she  stands,  without 
the  telling.  Truly,  'tis  a  pity  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain is  not  at  his  post  to  make  a  presentation  in 
due  form ! " 

The  lady  thus  addressed  took  a  step  towards 
her  companion,  with  what  seemed  a  protest  on  her 
lip.  But  the  latter,  her  small  face  quivering  with 
mischief  and  eagerness,  whispered  something  in 
her  ear,  and  the  beautiful  brown  eyes  fixed  them- 
selves once  again  smilingly  on  me. 

"Know,  sir,"  continued  the  speaker  then,  "since 
you  are  so  indiscreet  as  to  wake  at  the  wrong 
moment,  and  surprise  an  incognito,  the  mysteries 
of  which  were  certainly  not  meant  for  such  as 
you,  that  Altesse  she  is.  Son  Altesse  Str/nissime 
la  Princes se  Marie  Ottilie.  Marie  is  her  High- 
ness's  first  name,  and  Ottilie  is  her  Highness's 
last  name.  And  between  the  two  and  after  those 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  37 

two,  being  as  I  said  an  Altesse  Serenissime,  she 
has  of  course  a  dozen  other  names ;  but  more  than 
this  it  does  not  suit  her  Highness  that  you  should 
know.  Now  if  you  will  do  me,  a  humble  attend- 
ant that  I  am,  the  courtesy  to  state  who  you  are, 
who,  in  a  Silesian  boor's  attire,  speak  French  and 
wear  diamond  watches  to  your  belt,  I  can  proceed 
with  the  introduction,  even  in  the  absence  of  the 
Lord  Chamberlain." 

The  minx  had  an  easy  assurance  of  manner 
which  could  only  have  been  bred  at  Court.  Her 
mistress  listened  to  her  with  what  seemed  a  toler- 
ant affection. 

Looking  round,  bewildered  and  awkwardly  con- 
scious of  my  peasant  dress,  I  beheld  my  two  chas- 
seurs, standing  stolidly  sentinel  on  the  exact  spot 
where  I  had  last  seen  them  before  dropping  asleep. 
Old  Janos,  from  a  nearer  distance,  watched  us  sus- 
piciously. As  I  thus  looked  round  I  became  aware 
of  a  new  feature  in  the  landscape  —  a  ponderous 
coach  also  attended  by  two  chasseurs  in  unknown 
uniforms  waiting  some  hundred  paces  off,  down 
the  road. 

To  keep  myself  something  in  countenance  de- 
spite my  incongruous  garb  (and  also  perchance 
for  the  little  meanness  that  I  was  not  displeased 
to  show  this  Princess  that  I  too  kept  a  state  of 


38  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

my  own),  I  lifted  my  hand  and  beckoned  to  my 
retinue,  which  instantly  advanced  and  halted  in  a 
rank  with  rigid  precision  five  paces  behind  me. 

"Gracious  madam,"  said  I  in  German,  bowing 
to  her  who  had  dubbed  herself  the  lady-in-waiting, 
with  a  touch,  I  flattered  myself,  of  her  own  light 
mockery  of  tone,  "  I  shall  indeed  feel  honoured  if 
her  Serene  Highness  will  deign  to  permit  the 
presentation  of  so  unimportant  a  person  as  myself 
—  in  other  words  of  Basil  Jennico  of  Farringdon 
Dane,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  in  the  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain,  lately  a  captain  in  his  Royal  Im- 
perial Majesty's  Moravian  Regiment  of  Chevau- 
Legers,  now  master  of  the  Castle  of  Tollendhal, 
not  far  distant,  and  lord  of  its  domain."  Here, 
led  by  Jdnos,  my  three  retainers  saluted. 

I  thought  I  saw  in  the  Princess's  eyes  that  I 
had  created  a  certain  impression,  but  my  conse- 
quent complacency  did  not  escape  the  notice  of 
the  irrepressible  lady-in-waiting.  She  promptly 
did  her  best  to  mar  the  situation. 

"Fi  done,"  she  cried,  in  French,  "we  are  at 
Court,  Monsieur,  and  at  the  Court  of  —  at  the 
Court  of  her  Highness  we  are  not  such  savages 
as  to  perform  introductions  in  German." 

Then,  drawing  up  her  slight  figure  and  compos- 
ing her  face  into  preternatural  gravity,  she  took 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  39 

two  steps  forward  and  another  sideways,  accom- 
panied by  as  many  bows,  and  resting  her  hand  at 
arm's  length  on  the  china  head  of  her  stick,  with 
the  most  ridiculous  assumption  of  finikin  impor- 
tance and  with  a  quavering  voice  which,  although 
I  have  never  known  him,  I  recognised  instantly  as 
the  Chamberlain's,  she  announced  : 

"  Monsieur  Basile  Jean  Nigaud  de  la  Faridon- 
daine,  dans  le  comt6  ou  Ton  Suffoque,  .  .  .  d'im- 
portance,  au  royaume  de  la  Grande  Bretagne, 
maitre  du  Castel  des  Fous,  ici  proche,  et  seigneur 
des  alentours,  —  ahem  !  " 

Inwardly  cursing  the  young  woman's  buffoonery 
and  the  incredible  facility  with  which  she  had  so 
instantly  burlesqued  an  undoubtedly  impressive  re- 
cital, I  had  no  choice  but  to  make  my  three  bows 
with  what  good  grace  I  could  muster.  Whereupon, 
the  Princess,  still  smiling  but  with  a  somewhat  puz- 
zled air,  made  me  a  curtsey.  As  for  the  lady-in- 
waiting,  nothing  abashed,  she  took  an  imaginary 
pinch  of  most  excellent  snuff  with  a  pretence  of  high 
satisfaction  ;  then  laughed  aloud  and  long,  till  my 
ears  burned  and  her  own  dimple  literally  rioted. 

"  And  now,  to  complete  the  ceremony,"  said 
she,  as  soon  as  she  could  speak  at  all,  "let  me 
introduce  the  Court,  represented  to-day  by  myself. 
Mademoiselle  Marie  Ottilie.  Two  Ottilies  as  you 


40  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

will  perceive,  but  easily  explained,  thus :  Feu  the 
Highest  her  Se're'nissime's  gracious  ducal  grand- 
mother being  an  Ottilie  and  godmother  to  us  both 
—  Mademoiselle  Ottilie:  the  rest  concerns  you  not. 
Well,  Monsieur  de  la  Faridondaine,  Capitaine  et 
Seigneur,  etc.,  etc.,  —  charmed  to  have  made  your 
acquaintance.  So  far,  so  good.  But  .  .  .  these 
gentlemen  ?  Surely  also  nobles  in  disguise.  Will 
you  not  continue  the  ceremony  ? " 

She  waved  a  little  sunburnt  hand  towards  my 
immovable  body-guard,  and  the  full  absurdity  of 
my  position  struck  me  with  the  keenest  sense 
of  mortification. 

I  looked  back  at  the  three,  biting  my  lips,  and 
miserably  uncertain  how  to  conduct  myself  so  as 
to  save  some  shred  of  dignity.  My  ancient  Janos 
had  seen  too  many  strange  things  during  his  forty 
years'  attendance  on  my  great-uncle  to  betray 
the  smallest  surprise  at  the  present  singular  situa- 
tion ;  but  out  of  both  their  handsome  faces,  set 
like  bronze,  —  they  had  better  not  have  moved 
a  muscle  otherwise  or  Janos  would  have  known 
the  reason  why,  —  the  eyes  of  my  twin  attendants 
roamed  from  me  to  the  ladies,  and  from  the 
ladies  to  me,  with  the  most  devouring  curiosity. 
I  tartly  dismissed  them  all  again  to  a  distance, 
and  then,  turning  to  the  mysterious  Princess  I 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  41 

begged  to  know,  in  my  most  courtlike  manner 
if  I  might  presume  to  lay  my  services  at  her  feet 
for  the  time  of  her  sojourn  in  this,  my  land. 

With  the  same  adorable  yet  dignified  bashful- 
ness  that  I  had  already  noted  in  her,  the  lovely 
woman  looked  hesitatingly  at  her  lady-in-waiting, 
which  lively  wench,  not  being  troubled  with  timid- 
ity (as  she  had  already  sufficiently  demonstrated), 
promptly  took  upon  herself  to  answer  me.  But 
this  time  she  so  delightfully  fell  in  with  my  own 
wishes  that  I  was  fain  to  forgive  her  all  that  had 
gone  before. 

*  "But  certainly,"  she  exclaimed,  "her  Serene 
Highness  will  condescend  to  accept  the  services 
of  M.  de  Jean  Nigaud.  It  is  not  every  day  that 
brings  forth  such  romantic  encounters.  Know, 
sir,  that  we  are  two  damozels  that  have  by  the 
most  extraordinary  succession  of  fortunate  acci- 
dents escaped  from  school.  You  wonder?  By 
school,  I  mean  the  insupportable  tedium,  eti- 
quette, and  dulness  of  the  Court  of  his  most 
gracious  and  worshipful  Serenity  the  father  of 
her  Highness.  We  came  out  this  noon  to  make 
hay,  and  hay  we  will  make.  Or  rather  we  shall 
sit  on  the  hay,  and  you  shall  make  a  throne  for 
the  Princess,  and  a  little  tabouret  for  me,  and  then 
you  may  sit  you  down  and  entertain  us  ...  but 


42  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

on  the  ground,  and  at  a  respectful  distance,  that 
none  may  say  we  do  not  observe  proper  forms 
and  conventions,  for  all  that  we  are  holiday- 
making.  And  you  shall  explain  to  us  how  you, 
an  Englishman,  came  to  be  master  of  Chateau 
des  Fous,  and  masquerading  in  peasant's  attire. 
Is  masquerading  a  condition  of  tenure?  After 
which,  her  Serene  Highness  having  only  one 
fault,  that  being  her  angelic  softness  of  heart, 
which  is  pushed  to  the  degree  of  absolute  weak- 
ness, she  will  permit  me  to  narrate  to  you  (as 
much  as  is  good  for  you  to  know)  how  we  came 
to  be  here  at  such  a  distance  from  our  own  coun- 
try, and  in  such  curious  freedom  —  for  her  High- 
ness quite  sees  that  you  are  rapidly  becoming 
ill  with  suppressed  curiosity,  and  fears  that  you 
may  otherwise  burst  with  it  on  your  way  home 
to  your  great  castle,  or  at  least  that  the  pressure 
on  the  brain  may  seriously  affect  its  delicate 
balance  —  if  indeed,"  with  a  peal  of  her  reckless 
childish  laughter,  "you  are  not  already  a  lunatic, 
and  those  your  keepers  !  " 

This  last  piece  of  impudence  might  have  proved 
even  too  much  for  my  desire  to  cultivate  an  ac- 
quaintance so  extraordinarily  attractive  to  one  of 
my  turn  of  mind  and  so  alluring  by  its  mysterious- 
ness,  but  that  I  happened  to  catch  a  glance  from 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  43 

her  Highness's  eyes  even  as  the  speaker  finished 
her  tirade,  which  glance,  deprecating  and  at  the 
same  time  full  of  a  kindly  and  gentle  interest, 
set  my  heart  to  beat  in  a  curious  fashion  between 
pleasure  and  pain.  I  hastened  therefore  to  obey 
the  younger  lady's  behests,  and  began  to  gather 
together  enough  of  the  sweet-smelling  hay  to  form 
a  throne  for  so  noble  and  fair  an  occupant. 

Whereupon  the  little  creature  herself  —  she 
seemed  little  by  reason  of  her  slenderness  and 
childishness,  but  in  truth  she  was  as  tall  as  her 
tall  and  beautiful  mistress — fell  to  helping  me 
with  such  right  goodwill,  flashing  upon  me,  as  she 
flitted  hither  and  thither,  such  altogether  inno- 
cently mocking  looks  from  her  yellow-hazel  eyes, 
that  I  should  have  been  born  with  a  deeper  vanity, 
and  a  sourer  temper,  to  have  kept  a  grudge  against 
her. 

Once  seated  in  our  fragrant  court,  in  the  order 
laid  down  for  us,  the  attendant,  so  soon  as  she  had 
recovered  breath  sufficient,  began  to  ply  me  with 
questions  so  multiplied,  so  searching,  and  so 
pointed,  that  she  very  soon  extracted  from  me 
every  detail  she  wished  to  know  about  myself,  past 
and  present. 

But  although,  as  from  a  chartered  and  privileged 
advocate,  the  sharp  cross-questioning  came  from 


44  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

the  Mademoiselle  Marie  Ottilie,  it  was  to  the  soft 
dumb  inquiry  I  read  in  the  Princess  Marie  Ottilie's 
eyes  that  were  addressed  my  answers.  And  then 
those  eyes  and  the  listening  beauty  of  that  gracious 
face,  made  it  hard  for  me  to  realise,  as  later  reflec- 
tion proved,  that  their  owner  did  not  utter  a  single 
word  during  the  whole  time  we  sat  there  together. 


CHAPTER  III 

I  MIND  me  that  when  she  had  drawn  from  me 
all  she  had  wanted  to  know,  the  little  lady's  pert 
tongue  became  still  for  a  while,  and  that  she 
stretched  her  long  young  limbs  and  lay  back  upon 
her  mound  of  hay  with  the  most  absolute  uncon- 
cern either  of  my  presence  or  of  the  Princess's, 
gazing  skyward  with  a  sudden  gravity  in  her  look. 
As  for  me,  I  was  content  to  sit  in  silence  too,  glad 
of  the  quiet,  because  it  gave  me  leisure  to  taste  the 
full  zest  of  this  fortunate  and  singular  meeting.  I 
thought  I  had  never  seen  a  human  being  whom 
silence  became  so  well  as  the  Princess  Ottilie. 
Contrasted  with  the  recklessness  and  chatter  of 
her  companion  her  attitude  struck  me  as  the  most 
perfectly  dignified  it  had  ever  been  my  lot  to  ob- 
serve. 

Presently  the  nymph  in  yellow  roused  herself 
from  her  reverie,  and  sat  up,  with  her  battered  hat 
completely  on  one  side  and  broken  bits  of  grass 
sticking  in  the  tangled  mass  of  her  brown  hair. 
She  arched  her  lip  at  me  with  her  malicious  smile, 
and  addressed  her  companion. 

AC 


46  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

"Is  it  your  Highness's  pleasure,"  she  asked, 
"  that  I  should  gratify  some  of  this  young  English 
nobleman's  curiosity  concerning  the  wandering  of 
a  Princess  in  so  unprincely  a  fashion  ? " 

"Ach!"  rebuked  her  Highness,  on  the  wings  of 
a  soft  sigh.  The  truth  of  the  girl's  assertion  that 
her  mistress's  kindness  of  heart  amounted  to  weak- 
ness, was  very  patent ;  the  dependant  was  undoubt- 
edly indulged  to  the  verge  of  impertinence,  although 
it  is  also  true  that  her  manner  seemed  to  stop 
short  of  any  open  show  of  disrespect. 

"  Now  attention,  please,  Monsieur  de  la  Faridon- 
daine !  His  Most  Absolutely  to  be  Revered  and 
Most  Gracious  Serenity,  father  of  her  Highness, 
reigns  over  a  certain  land,  a  great  many  leagues 
from  here,"  she  began,  with  all  the  gusto  of  one 
who  revels  in  the  sound  of  her  own  voice.  "  Her 
Highness  is  his  only  daughter,  and  this  August 
Person  has  the  condescension  to  feel  for  her  some 
of  those  sentiments  of  paternal  affection  which  are 
common  even  to  the  lowest  peasant  You  have 
been  about  Courts,  Monsieur  Jean  Nigaud,  the  fact 
is  patent  and  indubitable.  You  can  therefore 
realise  the  extent  of  such  condescension.  A  little 
while  ago,  moved  by  these  sentiments,  my  gracious 
Sovereign  believed  there  was  a  paleness  upon  her 
Highness  his  daughter's  cheek." 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  47 

Involuntarily  I  looked  at  the  Princess,  to  see, 
with  a  curious  elation,  how  the  rich  colour  rushed, 
under  my  gaze,  yet  more  richly  into  her  face. 

"  It  does  not  appear  now,"  pursued  the  imper- 
turbable speaker,  whom  no  blink  of  mine  seemed 
to  escape,  "  but  there  was  a  paleness,  and  the 
Court  doctor  decided  there  was  likewise  a  trifling 
loss  of  tone  and  want  of  strength.  He  recom- 
mended a  change  of  air,  tonic  baths,  and  grape 
cure.  In  consequence,  after  due  deliberation  and 
consultation,  it  was  decreed  that  her  Highness 
should  be  sent  to  a  certain  region  in  the  mountains, 
where  Hochst  die  Selbe  has  a  grand,  a  most  high, 
ducal  aunt,  the  said  region  being  noted  for  its 
salubrious  air,  its  baths,  the  quality  and  extent  of 
its  vineyards.  In  company,  therefore,  of  a  few 
indispensable  court  officials  —  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain (as  a  responsible  person  for  her  Highness's 
movements),  the  most  gracious  a  certain  aged  and 
high  born  Grafin  (our  chief  Court  lady,  once  the 
Highness's  own  gouvernante),  the  second  Court 
doctor,  the  third  officier  de  bouche,  and  mine  own 
humble  self " 

Here  she  paused,  and,  with  a  sudden  assumption 
of  dolefulness  that  was  certainly  comic,  proceeded 
in  quite  another  voice : 

"I  am  a  person  of  no  consequence  at  Court, 


48  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

Monsieur  de  la  Faridondaine.  I  am  merely  toler- 
ated because  of  her  Highness's  goodness,  and  also 
because,  you  must  know,  that  I  have  a  reputation 
of  being  a  source  of  amusement  to  her  Serenity. 
You  may  already  have  noticed  that  it  is  fairly  well 
founded  that  I  am  talkative  and  entertaining,  as  a 
lady-in-waiting  should  be,  and  this  is  the  reason 
why  I  have  attained  a  position  to  which  my  birth 
does  not  entitle  me." 

A  little  frown  came  across  the  Princess's  smooth 
brow  at  these  words.  She  shot  a  look  of  depre- 
cation at  her  attendant,  but  the  latter  went  on, 
resuming  her  former  manner,  in  a  bubbling  of 
merriment : 

"Facts  are  facts,  you  see  —  I  am  even  hardly 
born.  My  mother  happened  to  be  liked  by  the 
mother  of  her  Serene  Highness  —  an  angel  —  and 
when  I  was  orphaned  she  took  me  closer  to  her. 
So  we  grew  up  together,  her  Highness  and  I, 
and  so  I  come  to  be  in  so  grand  a  place  as  a 
Court.  There,  Monsieur,  you  have  in  a  word  the 
history  of  Mademoiselle  Marie  Ottilie.  I  have  no 
wish  that  she  should  ever  seem  to  have  appeared 
under  false  colours." 

The  Princess,  whose  sensitive  blood  had  again 
risen  to  a  crimson  tide,  cast  a  very  uneasy  look 
at  her  companion.  I  could  see  how  much  her 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  49 

affectionate  delicacy  was  wounded  by  this  unneces- 
sary candour. 

But  little  mademoiselle,  after  returning  the 
glance  with  one  as  mischievous  and  unfeeling  as 
a  jackdaw's,  continued,  hugging  her  knees  with 
every  appearance  of  enjoyment : 

"  And  now  we  come  to  the  series  of  delightful 
accidents  which  brought  us  here.  Behold !  no 
sooner  had  we  left  the  Court  of — the  Court  her 
Highness  belongs  to  —  than  the  smallpox  broke 
out  in  the  Residenz  and  in  the  palace  itself.  The 
father  of  her  Serenity  had  had  it ;  there  was  no 
danger  for  him,  and  he  was  in  the  act  of  con- 
gratulating himself  upon  having  sent  the  Princess 
out  of  the  way,  when,  in  the  most  charming  man- 
ner (for  the  Ducal  Court  of  her  Highness's  aunt 
was  even  duller  than  Hochst  die  Selbe's  own,  and 
after  the  tenth  bunch  of  grapes  you  get  rather 
tired  of  a  grape  cure,  and  as  for  mud  baths  — 
oh  fie,  the  horror!),  we  discovered  that  we  had 
brought  the  pretty  illness  with  us.  And  first  one 
and  then  the  other  of  the  retinue  sickened  and 
fell  ill.  Then  a  Court  lady  of  the  Duchess  took 
it,  and  next  who  should  develop  symptoms  but 
the  old  growl-bear  and  scratch-cat,  our  own  chief 
Hofdame,  chief  duenna,  and  chief  bore.  That  was 
a  stroke  of  fortune,  you  must  admit !  But  wait 


5o  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

a  moment,  you  have  not  heard  the  best  of  it 
yet." 

At  the  very  first  mention  of  the  smallpox  the 
Princess  grew  pale,  and  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross.  And  indeed  it  seemed  to  me,  myself,  a 
tempting  of  Providence  to  joke  thus  lightly  about 
a  malady  so  dangerous  to  life  and  so  fatal  to 
looks.  But  the  girl  proceeded  coolly : 

"Her  Serene  Highness,  like  her  most  vener- 
ated brother,  had  had  the  disease ;  I  believe  they 
underwent  it  together  in  their  Serene  Babyhood. 
But  her  Serene  Highness  was  deeply  alarmed  by 
the  danger  to  which  her  Serene  niece  was  ex- 
posed. The  Court  doctor  was  no  less  concerned 
— it  is  a  bad  thing  for  a  Court  doctor  if  a  princess 
in  his  charge  fall  a  victim  to  an  epidemic  —  so 
they  put  their  heads  together  and  resolved  to  send 
the  exalted  young  lady  into  some  safer  region,  in 
company  of  such  of  her  retinue  as  seemed  in  the 
soundest  health.  An  aged  lady,  mother  of  M.  de 
Schreckendorf,  our  Chamberlain  already  described 
to  you,  dwells  in  these  plains.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,"  said  the  speaker,  pointing  a  small  finger  in 
the  direction  of  the  town,  "  her  castle  is  yonder. 
The  Duchess  had  once  condescended  to  spend  a 
night  there  to  break  a  journey,  and  it  had  re* 
mained  stamped  on  her  ducal  memory  that  the 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  51 

place  was  quiet, — not  to  say  a  desert, — that  there 
were  vineyards  close  by,  and  also  that  the  air  was 
particularly  salubrious.  She  knew,  too,  that  the 
Countess  Schreckendorf  was  quite  equal  to  the 
guarding  of  any  youthful  Serenity,  in  short,  a 
dragon  of  etiquette,  narrow-mindedness,  prudery, 
and  ugliness.  Together,  therefore,  with  the  Cham- 
berlain, a  few  women,  and  the  poor  doctor,  we 
were  packed  into  a  ducal  chariot,  and  carted  here, 
the  Countess  receiving  the  strictest  orders  not  to 
divulge  the  tremendous  altitude  of  her  visitor's 
rank.  She  would  die  rather  than  betray  the  trust, 
—  especially  as  to  thwart  innocent  impulses  is  one 
of  her  chief  pleasures,  nay,  I  may  say  her  only 
pleasure  in  life.  Little  does  she  or  the  Highness 
her  mistress  suspect  the  existence  of  a  Seigneur 
de  la  Faridondaine,  roaming  about  in  the  guise  of 
a  simple  Silesian  shepherd  and  pretending  to  sleep 
in  order  to  surprise  the  little  secrets  of  wander- 
ing princesses !  We  were  told,  when  we  asked 
whether  there  was  no  neighbourly  creature  within 
reach,  that  the  only  one  for  leagues  was  a  fearful 
old  man  with  one  eye  and  one  tooth,  who  goes 
about  using  his  cane  as  freely  on  every  one's  shoul- 
ders as  the  Prussian  king  himself.  Well,  never 
mind,  don't  speak,  I  have  yet  the  cream  of  the 
tale  to  offer !  We  arrived  here  three  weeks  ago 


52  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

and  found  the  grapes  no  more  spicy,  the  castle  no 
more  amusing,  and  the  neighbourhood  more  bor- 
ing than  even  the  ducal  Court  itself.  But  one  ex- 
cellent day,  the  good  little  Chamberlain  began  to 
look  poorly,  complained  of  his  poor  little  head, 
and  retired  to  his  room.  The  next  morning  what 
does  the  doctor  do,  but  pack  him  into  a  coach  and 
drive  away  with  him  like  a  fury.  Neither  coach, 
nor  postillions,  nor  doctor,  nor  Chamberlain,  have 
been  seen  or  heard  of  since !  But  I,  who  am 
awake  with  the  birds,  from  my  chamber  window 
saw  them  go — for  I  heard  the  clatter  in  the 
courtyard,  and  by  nature,  M.  the  Captain,  I  am 
as  curious  as  a  magpie." 

"Oh,  that,"  said  I  with  conviction,  "you  need 
not  tell  me  ! " 

She  seemed  vastly  tickled  by  the  frankness  of 
this  my  first  observation  after  such  long  listening, 
and  had  to  throw  herself  back  on  the  hay,  and 
laugh  her  laugh  out,  before  she  could  sit  up  again 
and  continue : 

"  So,  as  I  was  saying,  I  saw  the  departure. 
The  doctor  looked  livid  with  fright,  and  as  for  the 
Herr  Chamberlain,  he  was  muffled  up  in  blankets 
and  coats,  but  I  got  a  glimpse  of  his  face  for  all 
that,  and  it  was  spotted  all  over  with  great  red 
spots!" 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  53 

The  Princess  pushed  her  hat  off  her  forehead, 
and  turned  upon  her  lady-in-waiting  a  face  that 
had  grown  almost  livid. 

"  Pooh !  "  said  the  lady-in-waiting ;  "  your  High- 
ness is  over-nervous ;  'tis  now  a  good  fortnight 
since  the  old  gentleman  left  us,  and  if  you  or  I 
were  to  have  had  it  we  should  have  shown  symp- 
toms long  ago.  Well,  sir,  to  continue:  our  worthy 
hostess  the  Countess  was  in  a  fine  fume,  as  you 
can  fancy,  between  duty  and  natural  affection, 
terror  and  anxiety.  She  was  by  way  of  keeping 
the  whole  matter  a  dead  secret  both  from  us  and 
from  the  servants ;  but  the  fumigations  she  set 
going  in  the  house,  the  airing,  the  dosing,  together 
with  her  own  frantic  demeanour,  would  have  been 
enough  to  enlighten  even  obtuser  wits  than  ours. 
With  one  exception  all  our  servants  fled,  and  all 
hers.  She  had  to  replace  them  from  a  distance. 
The  anger,  the  responsibility,  the  agitation  gen- 
erally, were  too  much  for  her  years  and  constitu- 
tion ;  and  three  days  ago  —  in  the  act  (as  we  dis- 
covered) of  writing  to  the  Duchess  for  instructions, 
for  she  had  expected  the  Court  doctor  would  have 
sent  on  special  messengers  to  the  courts  of  her 
Highness's  relatives,  and  was  in  a  perfect  fever  at 
receiving  no  news — as  I  say,  in  the  very  act  of 
writing  evidently  to  despatch  another  post  herself, 


54  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

the  poor  old  lady  was  struck  with  paralysis,  and 
was  carried  speechless  to  bed.  Now,  Monsieur 
Jean  Nigaud,  you  English  are  a  practical  race. 
Do  you  not  agree  with  me  that  since  the  Lord, 
in  His  wisdom,  decreed  that  it  was  good  for  the 
Countess's  soul  to  have  a  little  physical  affliction, 
it  could  not  have  happened  at  a  better  moment 
for  us?  I  know  that  her  Highness  disapproves 
of  what  she  calls  my  heartlessness,  but  I  cannot 
but  rejoice  in  our  freedom. 

"The  Countess  is  recovering,  but  she  won't 
speak  plain  for  a  long  time  to  come.  Meanwhile 
we  are  free  —  free  as  air !  Our  only  personal 
attendant  is  my  own  —  my  old  nurse.  You  shall 
see  her.  She  speaks  but  little,  but  she  adores  me. 
But  as  we  cannot  understand  a  word  of  the  lan- 
guage spoken  here,  and  the  resources  of  this  dis- 
trict are  few,  I  will  own  to  you,  her  Highness  has 
found  it  a  little  dull,  in  spite  of  her  lady-in-wait- 
ing's well-known  gift  of  entertainment,  up  to 
to-day." 

She  threw  me  an  arch  look  as  she  spoke,  but 
the  Princess,  rising  with  the  dignity  peculiar  to 
her,  conveyed  her  sense  that  the  joke  had  this 
time  been  carried  a  little  too  far. 

The  shadows  were  lengthening,  the  wind  had 
fallen,  it  was  an  hour  of  great  peace  and  beauty  in 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  55 

the  land.  The  Princess  tock  a  few  steps  towards 
the  road  where  waited  the  carriage  ;  I  ran  forward 
and  presumed  to  offer  her  my  arm,  which  she  very 
graciously,  but  not  without  a  blush,  accepted. 
The  maid  of  honour,  springing  to  her  feet,  fol- 
lowed us,  tripping  over  the  rough  ground,  with  a 
torn  frock  and  her  hat  hanging  on  her  neck  by 
its  ribbons.  I  mind  me  well  how  the  chasseurs  of 
the  equipage  stared  to  see  their  lady  come  leaning 
on  the  arm  of  a  peasant.  How  they  stared,  too, 
at  the  unabashed,  untidy  apparition  of  the  lady-in- 
waiting  !  But  she,  humming  a  little  song  as  she 
went,  seemed  the  last  in  the  world  to  care  what 
impression  she  made. 

As  we  neared  the  coach,  a  tall  woman  all  in 
black,  with  a  black  shawl  over  her  black  hair,  jet- 
black  eyes,  staring  blankly  out  of  a  swarthy  face, 
descended  from  it.  She  looked  altogether  so  dark 
and  forbidding  a  vision  that  I  gave  a  start  when  I 
saw  her  thus  unexpectedly.  She  seemed  a  sort 
of  blot  on  the  whole  smiling,  sunny  landscape. 
But  as  Mademoiselle  Ottilie  drew  near,  the  woman 
turned  to  her,  her  whole  face  breaking  pleasantly 
into  a  very  eloquence  of  silent,  eager  love. 

Of  course  I  guessed  at  once  that  this  was  the 
nurse  to  whom  the  saucy  maiden  had  already  re- 
ferred. I  heard  them  whisper  to  each  other  (and 


56  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

it  seemed  to  me  as  if  the  woman  were  remonstrat- 
ing with  her  mistress)  while  I  installed  the  Prin- 
cess on  her  cushions.  Then  both  rejoined  us  to 
enter  the  carriage  likewise.  Before  she  jumped 
in,  Mademoiselle  Ottilie  tapped  her  nurse  on  the 
shoulder  with  the  sort  of  indifferent,  kind  little  pat 
one  would  bestow  on  a  dog.  The  woman  caught 
the  careless  hand  and  kissed  it,  and  her  eyes  as 
she  looked  after  the  girl's  figure  were  absolutely 
adoring ;  but  her  whole  countenance  again  clouded 
over  strangely  when  her  glance  fell  upon  us.  At 
length  they  all  three  were  seated,  and  my  graceful 
retirement  was  clearly  expected.  But  still  I  lin- 
gered. 

"The  vintage  had  begun  in  my  vineyards," 
quoth  I  hesitatingly;  "if  her  Highness  would 
honour  me  by  coming  again  upon  my  lands,  the 
sight  might  interest  her." 

The  Princess  hesitated,  and  then,  evidently 
doubtful  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  step,  threw  a 
questioning  glance  at  her  companion. 

"  But  certainly,"  said  the  latter  instantly,  "  why 
not  accept?  Your  Highness  has  been  advised  to 
keep  in  the  open  air  as  much  as  possible,  and  your 
Highness  has  likewise  been  recommended  inno- 
cent diversion :  nothing  could  be  better.  When 
shall  we  say?" 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  57 

"  If  to-morrow  would  suit,"  I  suggested  boldly, 
"  I  could  ride  over  after  noon,  if  her  Highness 
would  permit  me  to  be  her  escort.  And  perhaps 
she  will  also  further  honour  me  by  accepting  some 
slight  refreshment  at  my  castle.  It  is  worth  see- 
ing," I  said,  for  I  saw  no  reason  why  I  should  be 
bashful  in  pushing  my  advantages,  "  if  your  High- 
ness is  not  afraid  to  enter  Le  Chateau  des  Fous  ? " 
I  ventured  to  look  deep  into  her  eyes  as  I  spoke, 
and  I  remember  how  those  eyes  wavered  shyly 
from  my  gaze,  and  how  the  white  lids  fell  over 
them.  And  I  remember,  too,  with  what  a  sudden 
mad  exultation  leaped  my  heart. 

But,  as  before,  it  was  the  lady-in-waiting  who 
answered. 

"  Afraid  !  who  is  afraid  ?  Your  Highness,  will 
you  not  comfort  the  poor  young  man  and  tell  him 
you  are  not  afraid  ? " 

"  If  your  Highness  would  deign,"  said  I,  plead- 
ingly, and  leaning  forward  into  the  carriage. 

And  then  she  looked  at  me,  and  said  to  me  in 
the  sweetest  guttural  in  all  the  world,  "  No,  I  am 
not  afraid." 

We  were  speaking  French.  I  bowed  low,  fear- 
ing to  spoil  it  all  by  another  word.  The  Princess 
stretched  out  her  hand  and  I  kissed  the  back  of 
her  glove,  and  then  I  had  the  privilege  of  also 


58  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

kissing  Miss  Ottilie's  sunburnt,  scratched,  and 
rather  grimy  bare  little  paw,  which  she,  with 
affected  dignity,  thrust  forward  for  my  salute. 

The  carriage  drove  away,  and  as  it  went  I  mind 
me  how  the  nurse  looked  after  me  with  a  darkling 
anxiety,  and  also  how  as  I  stalked  homewards 
through  the  evening  glow,  with  my  body-guard 
tramping  steadily  behind  me,  I  kept  recalling  the 
sound  of  the  four  gracious  words  with  which  the 
Princess  had  consented  to  accept  of  my  hospitality. 

She  had  said,  it  is  true,  "  Che  rial  bas  beury" 
but  none  the  less  was  the  memory  a  delicate 
delight  to  my  heart  the  whole  night  through. 


CHAPTER   IV 

I  HAD  questioned  Janos  on  our  homeward  way 
concerning  my  new  acquaintances  ;  but  the  fellow 
was  so  ill-disposed  by  nature  to  external  gossip,  so 
wholly  occupied  with  the  minute  fulfilment  of  his 
daily  task,  which  was  to  watch  over  the  well-being 
and  safety  of  his  master,  that  he  had  gathered  no 
acquaintance  with  affairs  outside  his  province. 
With  the  head  factor,  however,  whom  I  sent  for 
immediately  after  supper,  I  was  more  fortunate. 
This  man,  Karl  Schultz,  is  Saxon-born,  and  conse- 
quently one  of  the  few  of  my  numerous  dependants 
with  whom  I  can  hold  converse  here.  It  was  but 
natural  that  among  the  peasantry  the  advent  of 
strangers,  evidently  of  wealth  and  distinction, 
should  have  created  some  stir,  and  it  is  Schultz's 
business,  among  many  other  things,  to  know  what 
the  peasantry  talk  about ;  although  in  this  more 
contented  part  of  the  world  this  sort  of  knowledge 
is  not  of  such  importance  as  among  our  neighbours 
the  Poles.  Schultz,  therefore,  was  aware  of  the 
arrival  of  the  ladies,  likewise  of  the  rumour  of 
smallpox,  which  had,  so  he  informed  me,  not  only 

59 


60  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

driven  all  the  servants  out  of  the  Castle  of 
Schreckendorf,  but  spread  something  like  a  panic 
over  the  country-side.  Tidings  had  also  come  to 
his  ears  that  two  gentlemen  —  one  of  them  suffer- 
ing from  the  dreadful  malady  (doubtless  the  poor 
Chamberlain)  —  had  been  abandoned  in  their  car- 
riage by  their  postillions  and  servants  at  the  small 
village  of  Kittlitz,  some  forty  miles  from  here, 
just  over  the  Lusatian  border.  He  corroborated, 
in  fact,  greatly  to  my  joy,  all  that  I  had  been  told; 
for  I  had  had  an  uneasy  fear  upon  me,  now  and 
again,  as  I  marched  home  in  the  evening  chill, 
that  I  had  been  too  ready  to  lend  credence  to  a 
romantic  and  improbable  story.  But,  better  than 
all,  Schultz,  having  felt  a  special  curiosity  con- 
cerning visitors  from  his  own  country,  had,  despite 
the  attempt  to  keep  the  matter  secret,  contrived 
to  satisfy  himself  to  the  full  as  to  their  identity. 
And  thus  did  I,  to  my  no  small  triumph,  from 
the  first  day  easily  penetrate  the  ill-guarded 
incognita. 

The  beautiful  wandering  Princess  was  the  only 
daughter  of  the  old  reigning  house  of  Lausitz- 
Rothenburg;  and  it  was  from  Georgenbrunn, 
where  she  had  been  on  a  visit  to  her  aunt  the 
Dowager  Duchess  of  Saxony,  that  the  second  out- 
break of  the  epidemic  had  driven  her  to  take 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  61 

refuge  with  the  Countess  Schreckendorf  in  our 
neighbourhood. 

Vastly  satisfied  with  my  discovery,  and  not  a 
little  fluttered  by  the  impending  honour,  I  made 
elaborate  preparations  the  next  day  against  the 
coming  of  such  guests.  We  rifled  the  gardens, 
the  greenhouses,  and  the  storerooms,  and  contrived 
a  collation  the  elegance  of  which  taxed  our  re- 
sources to  the  uttermost. 

Not  in  peasant  garb  did  I  start  at  noon  upon 
my  romantic  quest,  but  in  my  finest  riding  suit  of 
mulberry  cloth  embroidered  with  green  and  silver, 
(of  what  good  auguries  did  I  not  think  when  I 
remembered  that  green  and  white  were  actually 
the  colours  of  the  Maison  de  Lusace,  and  that  in 
this  discreet  manner  I  could  wear  on  my  sleeve 
the  mark  of  a  delicate  homage  ?),  ruffles  of  finest 
Mechlin  fluttered  on  my  throat  and  wrists,  and  a 
hat  of  the  very  latest  cock  was  disposed  jauntily 
at  the  exact  angle  prescribed  by  the  Vienna  mode. 

With  my  trim  fellows  behind  me,  and  with  as 
perfect  a  piece  of  horseflesh  between  my  knees  as 
the  Emperor  himself  could  ever  hope  to  bestride, 
I  set  out  in  high  delight  and  anticipation. 

Now,  on  this  freezing  winter's  night,  when  I 
look  back  upon  those  days  and  the  days  that 
followed,  it  seems  to  me  as  though  it  were  all  a 


62  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

dream.  The  past  events  are  wrapped  to  memory 
in  a  kind  of  haze,  out  of  which  certain  hours 
marked  above  the  rest  stand  out  alone  in  clear- 
ness. —  That  particular  day  stands  forth  perhaps 
the  clearest  of  all. 

I  remember  that  the  Princess  Ottilie  looked 
even  more  queenly  to  my  mind  than  at  first,  with 
her  fair  hair  powdered  and  a  patch  upon  the  satin 
whiteness  of  her  chin.  In  the  complacency  of  my 
young  man's  vanity,  I  was  exceedingly  elated  that 
she  should  have  considered  it  worth  while  to  adorn 
herself  for  me.  I  remember,  too,  that  the  lady- 
in-waiting  examined  me  critically,  and  cast  a  look 
of  approval  upon  my  altered  appearance  ;  that  she 
spoke  less  and  that  her  mistress  spoke  more  than 
upon  our  first  meeting;  that  even  the  presence, 
mute,  dark,  and  scowling,  of  their  female  attendant 
could  not  spoil  the  pleasure  of  our  intercourse. 

In  the  vineyards,  it  is  true,  an  incident  occurred 
which  for  a  moment  threatened  to  mar  my  perfect 
satisfaction.  The  peasant  girls  —  it  is  the  custom 
of  the  country  on  the  appearance  of  strangers  in 
the  midst  of  their  work  —  gathered  round  each 
lady,  surrounding  her  in  wild  dancing  bands,  threat- 
ening in  song  to  load  her  shoulders  with  a  heavy 
hodful  of  grapes  unless  she  paid  a  ransom.  It  was 
of  course  most  unseemly,  considering  the  quality  of 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  63 

the  company  I  was  entertaining,  and  I  had  not  fore- 
seen the  possibility  of  such  a  breach  of  respect. 
Never  before,  it  was  evident,  in  the  delicately  nurt- 
ured life  of  the  Princess,  had  such  rough  amuse- 
ment been  allowed  to  approach  her.  This  being 
the  case,  it  was  not  astonishing  that  the  admirable 
composure  of  her  usual  attitude  should  break  down 
—  her  dignity  give  way  to  the  emotion  of  fear. 
She  called  —  nay,  she  screamed  —  to  me  for  help. 
The  while  her  pert  lady-in-waiting,  no  whit  abashed, 
laughed  back  at  her  circle  of  grinning  sunburnt 
prancers,  threw  mocking  good-humoured  gibes  at 
them  in  German,  and  finally  was  sharp  enough  to 
draw  her  purse  and  pay  for  her  footing,  crying 
out  to  her  mistress  to  do  the  same.  But  the  latter 
was  in  no  state  to  listen  to  advice,  and,  alas  !  I 
found  myself  powerless  to  deliver  the  distressed 
lady.  In  my  ignorance  of  their  language  I  could 
do  nothing  short  of  use  brute  force  to  control  my 
savages,  who  were  after  all  (it  seems)  but  acting  in 
good  faith  upon  an  old-established  privilege.  So 
I  was  fain,  in  my  turn,  to  summon  Schultz  to  the 
rescue  from  a  distant  part  of  the  ground.  He, 
practical  fellow,  made  no  bones  about  the  matter ; 
with  a  bellow  and  a  knowing  whirl  of  his  cane 
every  stroke  of  which  told  with  a  dull  thwack,  he 
promptly  dispersed  the  indiscreet  merrymakers. 


64  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

I  suppose  it  is  my  English  blood  that  rises 
within  me  at  the  sight  of  a  woman  struck.  Upon 
the  impulse  of  the  first  moment  I  had  well-nigh 
wrenched  the  staff  from  his  hands  and  laid  it 
about  his  shoulders;  but  fortunately,  on  second 
thought,  I  had  wisdom  enough  to  refrain  from  an 
act  which  would  have  been  so  fatal  to  all  future 
discipline.  Nevertheless,  as  I  stood  by,  a  passive 
spectator  of  it,  the  blood  mounted,  for  very  shame, 
to  my  cheek,  and  I  felt  myself  degraded  to  the 
level  of  my  administrator's  brutality. 

The  poor  fools  fell  apart,  screaming  between 
laughter  and  pain.  One  handsome  wench  I 
marked,  indeed,  who  withdrew  to  the  side  of  a 
sullen  gipsy-looking  fellow,  her  husband  or  lover 
apparently ;  and  as  she  muttered  low  in  his  ear 
they  both  cast  looks  charged  with  such  murderous 
import,  not  only  at  the  uncompromising  justiciary, 
but  also  at  me,  and  the  man's  hand  stole  instinc- 
tively to  his  back  with  so  significant  a  gesture, 
that  I  realised  for  the  first  time  quite  fully  that 
there  might  be  good  reasons  for  Jdnos's  precautions 
anent  the  lord's  precious  person  when  the  lord  took 
his  walks  abroad. 

Another  girl  passed  me  close  by,  sobbing  aloud, 
as  she  returned  to  her  labour.  She  rubbed  her 
shoulder  sorely,  and  the  tears  hopped  off  the  rim 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  65 

of  her  fat  cheeks,  contorted  like  those  of  a  blub- 
bering child.  In  half-ashamed  and  sneaking  fash- 
ion, yet  unable  to  resist  the  urging  of  my  heart, 
I  followed  her  behind  the  next  row  of  vines  and 
touched  her  on  the  arm. 

She  recognised  me  with  a  start,  and  I,  all  fearful 
of  being  noticed  by  the  others,  in  haste  and  with- 
out a  word  —  as  what  word  could  I  find  in  which 
to  communicate  with  a  Slovack  ?  —  hastily  dropped 
a  consolatory  coin,  the  first  that  met  my  touch,  into 
her  palm. 

It  was  a  poor  plain  creature  with  dull  eyes,  coarse 
lips,  and  matted  hair,  and  she  gazed  at  me  a  mo- 
ment stupidly  bewildered.  But  the  next  instant, 
reading  I  know  not  what  of  sympathy  and  benevo- 
lence in  my  face,  as  a  dog  may  read  in  his  master's 
eyes,  she  fell  at  my  feet,  letting  the  gold  slip  out  of 
her  grasp  that  she  might  the  better  seize  my  hand 
in  hers  and  cover  it  with  kisses,  pouring  forth  the 
while  a  litany  of  gratitude,  as  unintelligible  to  me 
as  if  she  had  been  indeed  a  dog  whining  at  my  feet. 

To  put  an  end  to  the  absurd  situation,  distaste- 
ful to  my  British  free-born  pride  for  all  my  foreign 
training,  I  pushed  her  from  me  and  turned  away, 
to  find  the  lady-in-waiting  at  my  elbow. 

Instead,  however,  of  making  my  weakness  a 
mark  for  her  wit,  this  latter,  to  my  great  relief, 

F 


66  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

and  likewise  to  my  astonishment,  looked  wistfully 
from  the  ugly  besmeared  face  to  the  coin  lying  on 
the  black  soil,  then  at  my  countenance,  which  at 
that  moment  was,  I  felt,  that  of  a  detected  school- 
boy. And  then,  without  a  word,  she  followed  me 
back  to  her  mistress's  side. 

My  august  visitor  had  not  yet  regained  her 
wonted  serenity.  Still  fluttered,  she  showed  me 
something  of  a  pouting  visage.  I  thought  to  dis- 
cern in  her  not  only  satisfaction  at  the  punishment 
she  had  seen  administered,  but  some  resentment 
at  my  passive  attitude.  And  this,  I  confess,  sur- 
prised me  in  her,  who  seemed  so  gentle  and 
womanly.  But  I  told  myself  then  that  it  was  but 
natural  in  one  born  as  she  was  to  a  throne. 

On  the  other  hand,  while  I  confounded  myself 
in  excuses  and  explanations,  blaming  myself  for 
having  (through  my  inexperience  of  this  country) 
neglected  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  so  untoward 
an  incident,  I  heard  behind  me  the  voice  of  the 
young  Court  lady,  rating  Schultz  in  most  explicit 
German  for  the  heaviness  of  his  hand  upon  my 
folk.  And,  as  the  Princess  gradually  became  mol- 
lified towards  me  and  showed  me  once  again  her 
own  smiling  graciousness,  I  contrasted  her  little 
show  of  haughtiness  with  the  unreserve  of  her 
companion,  and  convinced  myself  that  it  did  but 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  67 

become  her  (being  what  she  was).  The  while  I 
watched  Mademoiselle  Ottilie,  mingling  with  peas- 
ants as  if  she  had  been  born  among  them,  with 
an  ever  renewed  wonder  that  she  should  have  been 
chosen  for  the  high  position  she  occupied. 

Later  on  my  guest,  according  to  her  promise, 
condescended  to  rest  and  refresh  herself  in  the 
castle.  This  was  the  culminating  moment  of  a 
golden  afternoon.  I  felt  the  full  pride  of  posses- 
sion when  I  led  her  in  through  the  old  halls  that 
bore  the  mark  of  so  many  centuries  of  noble 
masters ;  although  indeed,  as  a  Jennico,  I  had  no 
inherited  right  to  peacock  in  the  glories  of  the 
House  of  Tollendhal.  But,  at  each  portrait  before 
which  she  was  gracious  enough  to  halt,  I  took  care 
to  speak  of  some  notable  contemporary  among  the 
men  and  women  of  my  own  old  line,  in  that  dis- 
tant enchanted  island  of  the  North,  where  the  men 
are  so  brave  and  strong  and  the  women  so  fair. 
And,  without  stretching  any  point,  I  am  sure  the 
line  of  Jennico  lost  nothing  in  the  comparison. 

She  was,  I  saw,  beyond  mistake  impressed.  I 
rejoiced  to  note  that  I  was  rapidly  becoming  a 
person  of  importance  in  her  eyes.  Even  the  lady- 
in-waiting  continued  to  measure  me  with  an  altered 
and  thoughtful  look. 

Between   the  eating   of   our    meal  together  — 


68  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

which,  as  I  said,  was  quite  a  delicate  little  feast, 
and  did  honour  to  my  barefooted  kitchen  retinue 
— and  the  departure  of  my  visitors,  I  took  them 
through  many  of  the  chambers,  and  showed  them 
some  of  the  treasures,  quaint  antiquities,  and  relics 
that  my  great-uncle  had  inherited  or  himself  col- 
lected. On  a  little  table  under  his  picture  — 
yonder  on  that  wall  it  hangs  before  me  —  I  had 
spread  forth  in  a  glass  case,  with  a  sort  of  tender 
and  pious  memory  of  the  rigid  old  hero,  his  own 
personal  decorations  and  honours,  from  the  first 
cross  he  had  won  in  comparative  youth  to  the  last 
blazing  order  that  a  royal  hand  had  pinned  over 
the  shrunken  chest  of  the  field-marshal.  In  this 
portrait,  painted  some  five  years  before  his  death, 
my  uncle  had  insisted  on  appearing  full  face,  with 
a  fine  scorn  of  any  palliation  of  the  black  patch  or 
the  broken  jaw.  It  is  a  grim  enough  presentment 
in  consequence, — the  artist  having  evidently  rather 
relished  his  task, — and  sometimes,  indeed,  when  I 
am  alone  here  in  this  great  room  at  night,  and  it 
seems  as  if  the  candle-light  does  but  serve  to 
heighten  the  gloom  of  the  shadows,  I  find  my 
uncle's  one  eye  following  me  with  so  living  a 
sternness  that  I  can  scarce  endure  it. 

But  that  day  of  which  I  am  writing,  I  thought 
there  was  benignity  in  the  fierce  orb  as  it  surveyed 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  69 

such  honourable  company,  and  even  an  actual 
touch  of  geniality  in  the  set  of  the  black  patch. 

As  I  opened  the  case,  both  the  ladies  fell, 
women-like,  to  fingering  the  rich  jewels.  There 
was  a  snuff-box  set  around  with  diamonds,  upon 
the  lid  of  which  was  painted  a  portrait  of  the 
Dauphine.  This,  Maria  Theresa  had  herself  given 
to  my  uncle  on  the  occasion  of  her  daughter's 
marriage,  to  which  it  was  deemed  my  uncle's  firm 
attitude  in  council  over  the  Franco-Austrian  diffi- 
culty had  not  a  little  contributed. 

With  a  cry  of  admiration,  the  Princess  took  it 
up.  "  Ach,  what  diamonds !  "  she  said.  I  looked 
from  the  exquisite  face  on  the  ivory  to  the  no  less 
exquisite  countenance  bending  above  it,  and  I  was 
struck  by  the  resemblance  which  had  no  doubt 
unconsciously  been  haunting  me  ever  since  I  first 
met  her.  The  arch  of  the  dark  eyebrow,  the 
supercilious  droop  of  the  eyelid,  the  curve  of  the 
short  upper  lip,  and  the  pout  of  the  full  under 
one,  even  the  high  poise  of  the  head  on  the  long 
throat,  were  curiously  similar.  I  exclaimed  upon 
the  coincidence,  while  the  Princess  flushed  with  a 
sort  of  mingled  pleasure  and  bashfulness. 

Mademoiselle  Ottilie  took  up  the  miniature  in 
her  turn,  and,  after  gravely  comparing  it  with  her 
own  elfish,  sunburnt  visage  in  the  glass,  gazed  at 


70  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

her  mistress  ;  then,  heaving  a  lugubrious  sigh,  she 
assented  to  my  remarks,  adding,  however,  that 
there  was  no  ground  for  surprise,  as  the  Princess 
Marie  Ottilie  was  actually  cousin  to  her  Royal 
Highness  the  Dauphine. 

The  Princess  blushed  again,  and  lifted  up  her 
hand  as  if  to  warn  her  companion.  But  the  latter, 
with  her  almost  uncanny  perspicacity,  continued, 
turning  to  me : 

"Of  course,  M.  de  Jennico"  (she  had  at  last 
mastered  my  name)  — "  of  course,  M.  de  Jennico 
has  found  out  all  about  us  by  this  time,  and  is 
perfectly  aware  of  her  Highness's  identity." 

Then  she  added,  and  her  eyes  danced : 

"  Since  M.  de  Jennico  is  so  fond  of  genealogy  " 
(among  the  curiosities  of  the  place  I  had  naturally 
shown  them  my  uncle's  monumental  pedigree), 
"  he  can  amuse  himself  in  tracing  the  connection 
and  relationships  —  no  doubt  he  has  the  '  Alma- 
nach  de  Gotha '  —  between  the  houses  of  Hapsburg 
and  the  Catholic  house  of  Lausitz-Rothenburg." 

And  indeed,  although  she  meant  this  in  sarcasm, 
when,  after  I  had  escorted  them  home,  I  returned, 
through  the  mists  and  shades  of  twilight,  to  my 
solitude  (now  peopled  for  me  with  delightful  pres- 
ent, and  God  knows  what  fantastic  future,  visions), 
I  did  produce  that  excellent  new  book,  the  "Al- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  71 

manach  de  Gotha,"  and  found  great  interest  in 
tracing  the  blood-relation  between  the  Dauphine 
and  the  fairest  of  princesses.  And  afterwards, 
moved  by  some  spirit  of  vainglory,  I  amused  my- 
self by  comparing  on  the  map  the  relative  sizes  of 
the  Duchy  of  Lausitz  and  the  lands  of  Tollendhal. 
And  next  I  was  moved  to  unroll  once  again 
my  uncle's  pedigree,  and  to  study  the  fine  chain 
of  noble  links  of  which  I  stand  the  last  worthy 
Jennico,  when  something  that  had  been  lying  un- 
formed in  my  mind  during  these  last  hours  of 
strange  excitement  suddenly  took  audacious  and 
definite  shape. 


CHAPTER  V 

WHAT  first  entered  my  brain  as  the  wildest 
possibility  grew  rapidly  to  a  desire  which  pos- 
sessed my  whole  being  with  absolute  passion. 
The  situation  was  in  itself  so  singular  and  tanta- 
lising, and  the  Princess  was  so  beautiful  a  woman, 
to  be  on  these  terms  of  delicious  intimacy  with 
the  daughter  of  one  of  Europe's  sovereigns  (a 
little  sovereign  it  is  true,  but  great  by  race  and 
connection),  to  meet  her  constantly  in  absolute 
defiance  of  all  the  laws  of  etiquette,  yet  to  see  her 
wear  through  it  all  as  unapproachable  a  dignity, 
as  serene  an  aspect  of  condescension,  as  though 
she  were  presiding  at  her  father's  Court  —  it  was 
enough,  surely,  to  have  turned  the  head  of  a  wiser 
man  than  myself ! 

It  was  not  long  before  Mademoiselle  Ottilie,  the 
lady-in-waiting,  discovered  the  secret  madness  of 
my  thoughts  —  in  the  light  of  what  has  since 
occurred  I  can  truly  call  it  so.  And  she  it  was 
who,  for  purposes  of  her  own,  shovelled  coals 
on  the  fire  and  fanned  the  flame.  One  way  or 
another,  generally  on  her  initiative,  but  always 

72 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  73 

by  her  arrangement,  we  three  met,  and  met 
daily. 

On  the  evening  of  a  day  passed  in  their  com- 
pany, with  the  impression  strong  upon  me  of  the 
Princess's  farewell  look,  which  had  held,  I  fancied, 
something  different  to  its  wont ;  with  the  know- 
ledge that  I  had,  unrebuked,  pressed  and  kissed 
that  fair  hand  after  a  fashion  more  daring  than 
respectful,  with  my  blood  in  a  fever  and  my  brain 
in  a  whirl,  now  seeming  sure  of  success,  now 
coldly  awake  to  my  folly,  I  bethought  me  of  tak- 
ing counsel  again  with  sny  great-uncle's  pedigree. 
And  heartened  by  the  proofs  that  the  blood  of 
Jennico  was  good  enough  for  any  alliance,  I  fell  to 
completing  the  document  by  bringing  it  up  to  date 
as  far  as  concerned  myself.  Now,  when  I  in 
goodly  black  letters  had  set  down  my  own  cogno- 
men so  fair  upon  the  parchment,  I  was  further 
seized  with  the  fancy  to  fill  in  the  space  left  blank 
for  my  future  marriage  ;  and  I  lightly  traced  in 
pencil,  opposite  the  words  "  Basil  Jennico,  Lord  of 
Tollendhal,"  the  full  titles  and  names,  which  by 
this  time  I  had  studied  till  I  knew  them  off  by 
heart,  of  her  Serene  Highness  the  Princess  Marie 
Caroline  Dorothe'e  Josephine  Charlotte  Ottilie  of 
Lausitz. 

It  made  such  a  pretty  show  after  all  that  had 


74  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

gone  before,  and  it  brought  such  visions  with  it  of 
the  glories  the  name  of  Jennico  might  yet  rise  to, 
that  I  could  not  find  it  in  me  to  erase  it  again, 
and  so  left  it  as  it  stood,  telling  myself,  as  I  rolled 
up  the  great  deed  again  and  hooked  it  in  its  place 
beneath  my  uncle's  portrait,  that  it  would  not  be 
my  fault  if  the  glorious  entry  did  not  remain  there 
for  ever. 

The  next  time  the  ladies  visited  me,  Mademoi- 
selle Ottilie  —  flitting  like  a  little  curious  brown 
moth  about  the  great  room,  dancing  pirouettes 
beneath  my  uncle's  portrait,  and  now  and  again 
pausing  to  make  a  comical  grimace  at  his  forbid- 
ding countenance,  while  I  entertained  her  mistress 
at  its  further  end  —  must  needs  be  pricked  by  the 
desire  to  study  the  important  document,  which  I 
had,  as  I  have  said,  already  submitted  to  her  view. 

Struck  by  her  sudden  silence  and  stillness,  I 
rose  and  crossed  the  room  to  find  her  with  the 
parchment  rolled  out  before  her,  absorbed  in  con- 
templation, her  elbows  on  the  table,  her  face  lean- 
ing on  her  hands.  With  a  fierce  rush  of  blood  to 
my  cheeks,  in  a  confusion  that  set  every  pulse 
throbbing,  I  attempted  to  withdraw  from  her  the 
evidence  of  what  must  seem  the  most  impudent 
delusion.  But  she  held  tight  with  her  elbows, 
and  then,  disregarding  my  muttered  explanation 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  75 

that  I  intended  to  rub  out  at  once  the  nonsense 
I  had  written  in  a  moment  of  idleness,  she  laid 
her  small  finger  upon  the  place,  and,  looking  at 
me  gravely,  said : 

"  Why  not  ? " 

The  whole  room  whirled  round  with  me. 

"  My  God,"  I  cried,  "  don't  mock  me  !  " 

But  she,  with  a  new  ring  of  feeling  in  her  voice, 
said  earnestly  : 

"  She  has  such  misery  before  her  if  her  father 
carries  out  his  will." 

To  hear  these  words  from  her,  who  of  all  others 
must  be  in  her  mistress's  confidence,  ought,  how- 
ever amazing  to  reason  and  common  sense,  to 
have  been  a  spur  to  one  whose  ambition  soared 
so  high.  Nevertheless,  I  hesitated.  To  be  hon- 
est with  myself,  not  from  a  lover's  diffidence,  from 
a  lover's  dread  of  losing  even  hope,  but  rather 
from  the  fear  of  placing  myself  in  an  absurd 
position  —  of  risking  the  deadly  humiliation  of  a 
refusal. 

I  dared  therefore  nothing  but  soft  looks,  soft 
words,  soft  pressures  of  the  hand ;  and  the  Princess 
received  them  all  as  she  received  everything  that 
had  gone  before.  From  one  in  her  position  this 
might  seem  of  itself  encouragement  enough  in  all 
conscience;  but  I  waited  in  vain  for  some  break 


76  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

in  her  unruffled  composure  —  some  instant  in 
which  I  could  mark  that  the  Princess  was  lost  in 
the  woman.  And  so  what  drew  me  most  to  her 
kept  me  back.  At  the  same  time  a  rooted  dis- 
trust of  the  little  lady-in-waiting,  a  certain  con- 
tempt, too,  for  her  personality  as  belonging  to 
that  roture  so  despised  of  my  great-uncle  and  my- 
self, prevented  me  from  placing  confidence  in 
her. 

But  she,  nevertheless,  precipitated  the  climax. 
It  was  three  days  after  the  scene  in  my  great- 
uncle's  room,  one  Sunday  morning,  beside  the 
holy-water  font  in  the  little  chapel  of  Schrecken- 
dorf  Castle,  whither,  upon  the  invitation  of  its 
present  visitors  —  my  own  priest  being  ill,  poor 
man,  of  an  ague  —  I  had  betaken  myself  to  hear 
mass.  The  Princess  had  passed  out  first,  and  had 
condescended,  smiling,  to  brush  the  pious  drops 
from  my  finger ;  but  Mademoiselle  Ottilie  paused 
as  she  too  touched  with  hers  my  outstretched 
hand,  and  said  in  my  ear  as  crossly  as  a  spoilt 
child : 

"You  are  not  a  very  ardent  lover,  M.  de  Jen- 
nico. The  days  are  going  by ;  the  Countess 
Schreckendorf  is  beginning  to  speak  quite  plain 
again.  It  is  impossible  that  her  Highness  should 
be  left  in  this  liberty  much  longer." 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  77 

I  caught  her  hand  as  she  would  have  hurried 
away. 

"  If  I  could  be  sure  that  this  is  not  some  foolish 
jest,"  I  said  in  a  fierce  whisper  in  her  ear. 

And  she  to  me  back  again  as  fiercely  : 

"  You  are  afraid ! "  she  said  with  a  curling 
lip. 

That  settled  it. 

I  rode  straight  "home,  though  I  was  expected  to 
have  joined  the  ladies  in  some  expedition.  I 
spent  the  whole  day  in  a  most  intolerable  state  of 
agitation ;  and  then,  my  mind  made  up,  I  sat 
down  after  supper  to  write,  beneath  my  uncle's 
portrait.  And  the  first  half  of  the  night  went  by 
in  writing  and  re-writing  the  letter  which  was  to 
offer  the  hand  and  heart  of  Basil  Jennico  to  the 
Princess  Marie  Ottilie  of  Lausitz. 

I  wrote  and  tore  up  till  the  ground  around  me 
was  strewn  with  the  fragments  of  paper ;  and 
now  I  seemed  too  bold,  when  the  whole  incon- 
gruity and  absurdity  of  my  desire  took  tangible 
form  to  mock  me  in  the  silence  of  the  night ;  and 
now  too  humble,  when  in  the  flickering  glimmer 
of  candle-light  my  great-uncle  would  frown  down 
upon  me,  and  I  could  hear  him  say : 

"  Remember  that  thou  Jennico  bist  \  " 

At  last  a  letter  lay  before  me  by  which  I  re- 


78  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

solved  to  abide.  I  believe  that  it  was  an  odd 
mixture  of  consciousness  of  my  own  temerity  in 
aspiring  so  high,  and  at  the  same  time  of  convic- 
tion that  the  house  of  Jennico  could  only  confer, 
and  not  receive,  honour.  I  even  proposed  to  pre- 
sent myself  boldly  with  my  credentials  at  the 
Court  of  Lausitz  (and  here  of  course  the  famous 
pedigree  came  in  once  more),  and  I  modestly 
added  that,  considering  my  wealth  and  connec- 
tions, I  ventured  to  hope  the  Duke,  her  father, 
might  favourably  consider  my  pretensions. 

This  written  and  sealed,  I  was  able  to  sleep 
for  the  rest  of  the  night,  but  was  awake  again 
with  dawn  and  counting  the  minutes  until  I 
could  decently  despatch  a  mounted  messenger  to 
Schreckendorf. 

When  the  man  rode  forth  I  believe  it  was  a 
little  after  eight ;  and  I  know  that  it  was  on  the 
stroke  of  one  when  I  heard  his  horse's  hoofs  ring- 
ing again  in  the  courtyard.  But  time  had  no 
measure  for  the  strange  agony  of  doubt  in  which 
I  passed  those  hours,  not  (once  again  have  I  to 
admit  it)  because  I  loved  her  too  dearly  to  bear 
the  thought  of  life  without  her,  but  because  of  my 
fierce  pride,  which  would  not  brook  the  shame  of 
a  refusal. 

I  called  in  a  frenzy  to  hurry  the  lagging  fool  into 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  79 

my  presence ;  and  yet  when  he  laid  the  letter  on 
my  table  I  stared  at  the  great  seal  without  daring 
to  open  it.  And  when  at  last  I  did  so  my  hand 
trembled  like  an  aspen  leaf. 

"  Monsieur  de  Jennico,"  it  began  abruptly,  "  I  ought  to  cai* 
you  mad,  for  what  you  propose  is  nothing  less  indeed  tha» 
madness.  You  little  know  the  fetters  that  bind  such  lives  a? 
mine,  and  I  could  laugh  and  weep  together  to  think  of  what 
the  Duke,  my  father,  would  say  were  you  really  to  present 
yourself  before  him  as  you  suggest." 

So  it  ran,  and  as  I  read  I  thought  I  was  con- 
temned, and  in  my  fury  would  have  crushed  the 
letter  in  my  hand,  when  a  word  below  caught  my 
eye,  and  with  an  intensity  of  joy  on  a  par  only 
with  the  passion  of  wounded  pride  that  had  pre- 
ceded it,  I  read  on : 

"  But,  dear  Monsieur  de  Jennico,"  so  ran  the  tetter  then, 
"  since  you  love  me,  and  since  you  honour  me  by  telling  me 
so ;  since  you  offer  me  so  generously  all  you  have  to  give,  1 
will  be  honest  with  you  and  tell  you  that  my  present  life  has 
no  charm  for  me.  I  know  only  too  well  what  the  future 
holds  for  me  in  my  own  home,  and  I  am  willing  to  trust  my- 
self to  you  and  to  your  promises  rather  than  face  the  lot 
already  drawn  for  me  . 

"  Therefore,  Monsieur  de  Jennico,  if  it  be  true  that,  as  you 
say,  all  your  happiness  depends  upon  my  answer,  I  trust  it 
may  be  for  the  benefit  of  both  that  I  should  say  '  Yes '  to  you 
to-day.  But  what  is  to  be  must  be  secretly  done,  and  socm 


8o  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

Are  you  willing,  to  obtain  your  desire,  to  risk  a  little,  when 
I  am  willing  to  risk  so  much  in  granting  it?  If  so,  meet  my 
lady-in-waiting  to-day  at  six,  alone,  where  we  first  met,  and 
she  will  tell  you  all  that  I  have  decided." 

It  was  signed  simply  —  "Marie  Ottilie." 

There  was  no  hint  of  answering  love  to  my 
passionate  declaration,  but  I  did  not  miss  it.  I 
had  won  my  Princess,  and  the  few  clear  words  in 
which  she  laid  bare  before  me  the  whole  extent  of 
my  presumption  only  added  to  the  exquisite  zest 
of  my  conquest. 

It  was  a  very  autumn  day  —  autumn  comes 
quickly  in  these  lands.  It  had  been  raining,  and 
I  rode  down  from  the  higher  level  into  a  sea  of 
white  writhing  mists.  It  was  still  and  warm  — 
one  of  those  heavy  days  that  as  a  rule  seem  like  to 
clog  the  blood  and  fill  one  with  reasonless  forebod- 
ing. I  remember  all  that  now  ;  but  I  know  that 
there  was  no  place  for  foreboding  in  my  exulting 
heart  as  I  sallied  out  full  early  to  the  trysting-place. 

The  mare  I  rode,  because  of  the  close  atmosphere 
and  her  own  headstrong  temper,  was  in  a  great 
lather  when  I  arrived  at  the  little  pine-wood,  and 
I  dismounted  and  began  to  lead  her  gently  to  and 
fro  (for  I  loved  the  pretty  creature,  who  was  as 
fond  and  skittish  as  a  woman)  that  she  might  cool 
by  degrees  and  take  no  injury.  I  was  petting  and 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  81 

fondling  her  sleek  coat,  when  of  a  sudden,  without 
my  having  had  the  least  warning  of  her  coming,  I 
turned  to  find  Mademoiselle  Ottilie  before  me. 

She  looked  at  me  straight  with  one  of  those  odd 
searching  looks  which  I  had  now  and  again  seen 
her  fix  upon  me ;  and  without  either  "  Good-even" 
or  "  How-do-you-do,"  she  said  abruptly  : 

"  I  saw  you  coming  all  the  way  along  the  white 
road  from  the  moment  it  turns  the  corner,  and  I 
saw  how  your  mare  fought  you,  and  how  difficult 
it  was  to  bring  her  past  the  great  beam  of  the  well 
yonder.  You  made  her  obey,  but  you  have  not 
left  a  scratch  upon  her  sides  —  yet  you  wear 
spurs." 

She  looked  at  me  with  the  most  earnest  inquiry, 
and,  ruffled  by  the  futility  of  the  question  when 
so  much  was  at  stake,  I  said  to  her  somewhat 
sharply  : 

"What  has  this  to  do,  Mademoiselle,  with  our 
meeting  here  to-day  ? " 

"  It  has  this  to  do,  Monsieur,"  she  answered  me 
composedly,  "  that  her  Highness's  interests  are  as 
dear  to  me  as  my  own,  and  that  I  am  glad  to  learn 
that  the  man  she  is  to  wed  has  a  merciful  heart. 
I  know  a  man,"  she  went  on,  "  in  our  own  country 
who  passes  for  the  finest,  the  bravest,  the  most 
gallant,  but  when  he  brings  a  horse  in  from  the 

G 


82  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

chase  its  legs  will  be  trembling  and  it  will  be 
panting  so  that  it  can  scarce  draw  breath,  because 
the  rider  is  so  brave  and  dashing  that  he  must  go 
the  fastest  of  all,  and  he  will  have  left  his  mark 
upon  the  poor  beast's  sides  in  great  furrows  where 
he  has  ploughed  them  with  his  spurs.  He  is 
greatly  admired  by  every  one  ;  but  his  horses  die, 
and  his  hounds  shrink  when  he  moves  his  hand : 
that  is  what  my  country-people  call  being  manly 
—  being  a  real  cavalier ! " 

The  scorn  of  her  tone  was  something  beyond 
the  mere  girlish  pettishness  I  generally  associated 
with  her ;  but  to  me,  except  as  she  represented  or 
influenced  her  mistress,  she  had  never  had  any 
interest.  And  so  again  impatiently  I  brought  her 
back  to  the  object  of  our  meeting. 

"  Her  Highness  has  entrusted  you  with  a  mes- 
sage ?  "  I  asked. 

"Her  Highness  would  first  of  all  know,"  said 
the  maid  of  honour,  "if  you  fully  realise  the  diffi- 
culties you  may  bring  upon  yourself  by  the  mar- 
riage you  propose  ? " 

"The  Princess,"  said  I  proudly,  "has  conde- 
scended to  say  that  she  will  trust  herself  to  me. 
After  that,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  there  can  be 
no  question  of  difficulty.  As  for  her,  if  she  will 
consent  to  accompany  me  to  England,  no  trouble 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  83 

or  reproach  need  ever  reach  her  ears.  If  she  pre- 
fers to  remain  here,  I  shall  none  the  less  be  able 
to  protect  my  wife,  were  it  against  the  whole 
Empire  itself." 

"That  is  the  right  spirit,"  said  Mademoiselle 
Ottilie,  nodding  her  head  approvingly.  "What 
you  say  has  not  got  a  grain  of  common  sense,  but 
that  is  all  as  it  should  be.  And  next,"  she  con- 
tinued, drawing  closer  to  me,  for  there  was  a  twi- 
light dimness  about  us,  and  standing  on  tiptoe 
in  the  endeavour  to  bring  her  gaze  on  a  level  with 
mine,  "  her  Highness  wishes  to  know  "  —  she 
dropped  her  voice  a  little  —  "  if  you  love  her  very 
much  ? " 

As  if  the  gaze  of  those  yellow  hazel  eyes  of  hers 
had  cast  a  sudden  revealing  light  upon  my  soul, 
I  stood  abashed  and  dumb,  self-convicted  by  my 
silence.  Love !  Did  I  love  her  whom  I  would 
make  my  wife  ?  Taken  up  with  schemes  of  vain- 
glory and  ambition,  what  room  had  I  in  my  heart 
for  love  ?  In  all  my  triumph  at  having  won  her, 
was  there  one  qualifying  thread  of  tenderness  ? 
Would  I,  in  fine,  have  sought  the  woman,  beauti- 
ful though  she  was,  were  she  not  the  Princess  ? 

In  a  sort  of  turmoil  I  asked  myself  these  things 
under  the  compelling  earnestness  of  Mademoiselle 
Ottilie's  eyes,  and  everything  in  myself  looked 


84  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

strange  and  hideous  to  myself,  as  beneath  a  vivid 
lightning  flash  the  most  familiar  scene  assumes  a 
singular  and  appalling  aspect. 

In  another  moment  she  moved  away  and  turned 
aside  from  me  ;  and  then,  even  as  after  the  light- 
ning flash  all  things  resume  their  normal  aspect,  I 
wondered  at  my  own  weak  folly,  and  my  blood 
rose  hotly  against  the  impertinence  that  had 
evoked  it. 

"  By  what  right,"  said  I,  "  Mademoiselle,  do  you 
ask  me  such  a  question  ?  If  it  be  indeed  by  order 
of  her  Highness,  pray  tell  her  that  when  she  will 
put  it  to  me  herself  I  will  answer  it  to  herself." 

The  maid  of  honour  wheeled  round  with  her 
arch,  inscrutable  smile. 

"Oh!"  she  said,  "believe  me,  you  have  an- 
swered me  very  well.  I  was  already  convinced  of 
the  sincerity  and  ardour  of  your  attachment  to  ... 
her  Highness  —  so  convinced,  indeed,  that  I  am 
here  to-night  for  the  sole  purpose  of  helping  both 
you  and  her  to  your  most  insane  of  marriages. 
The  Princess  is  accustomed  to  rely  upon  me  for 
everything,  and  upon  me,  therefore,  falls  the 
whole  burden  of  preparation  and  responsibility. 
Whether  the  end  of  all  this  will  be  a  dungeon  for 
the  lady-in-waiting,  if  indeed  the  Duke  does  not 
have  her  executed  for  high  treason,  is  naturally  a 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  85 

contingency  which  neither  of  you  will  consider 
worth  a  moment's  thought.  It  is  quite  certain, 
however,  that  without  me  you  would  both  do 
something  inconceivably  stupid,  and  ruin  all. 
But,  voyons,  Monsieur  de  Jennico,"  she  went  on 
with  sudden  gravity  of  demeanour,  "  this  is  no  time 
for  pleasantry.  It  is  a  very  serious  matter.  You 
are  wasting  precious  moments  in  a  singularly 
light-hearted  fashion,  it  seems  to  me." 

The  reproach  came  well  from  her !  But  she 
left  me  no  time  to  protest. 

"I  am  here,"  she  said,  "as  you  know,  to  tell 
you  what  the  Princess  has  decided,  and  how  we 
must  act  if  the  whole  thing  is  not  to  fail.  First 
of  all,  the  arrival  of  some  important  person  from 
the  Court  of  Lausitz  may  take  place  any  day,  and 
then  —  'Bonjour!"  She  blew  an  airy  kiss  and 
waved  her  hand,  while  with  a  cold  thrill  I  realised 
the  irrefutable  truth  of  her  words. 

"  If  it  is  to  be,"  she  went  on,  unconsciously  re- 
peating almost  the  exact  text  of  her  mistress's 
letter  to  me,  "it  must  be  at  once  and  in  secret. 
Mind,  not  a  word  to  a  soul  till  all  is  accomplished ! 
On  your  honour  I  lay  it !  And  she,  her  Highness, 
enjoins  it  upon  you  not  to  betray  her  to  any  single 
human  being  before  you  have  acquired  the  right  to 
protect  her.  It  is  surely  not  too  much  to  ask  ! " 


86  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

She  spoke  with  deep  solemnity,  and  yet  charac- 
teristically cut  short  my  asseverations. 

"  And,  that  being  settled,  and  you  being  willing 
to  take  this  lady  for  your  wife, — probably  without 
a  stiver,  and  certainly  with  her  father's  curse " 
(I  smiled  proudly  in  the  arrogance  of  my  heart: 
all  Duke  as  he  was  I  did  not  doubt,  once  the  first 
storm  over,  but  that  my  exalted  father-in-law 
would  find  very  extenuating  circumstances  for  his 
wilful  daughter's  choice),  —  "that  being  settled," 
continued  Miss  Ottilie,  "  it  only  remains  to  know 
—  are  you  prepared  to  enter  the  marriage  state 
two  nights  hence  ? " 

"  I  wish,"  said  I,  and  could  not  keep  the  note 
of  exultation  from  my  voice  at  having  the  rare 
prize  thus  actually  within  my  reach  —  "I  wish  you 
would  ask  me  for  some  harder  proof  of  my  com- 
plete devotion  to  her  Highness." 

"  Well,  then,"  she  said  hastily,  whispering  as  if 
the  pines  could  overhear  us,  "  so  be  it !  I  have 
not  been  idle  to-day,  and  I  have  laid  the  plot. 
You  know  the  little  church  in  that  wretched  vil- 
lage of  Wilhelmsdhal  we  posted  through  two  days 
ago  ?  The  priest  there  is  very  old  and  very  poor 
and  like  a  child,  because  he  has  always  lived 
among  the  peasants  ;  and  now  indeed  he  is  almost 
too  old  to  be  their  priest  any  more.  I  saw  him 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  87 

to-day,  and  told  him  that  two  who  loved  each 
other  were  in  great  straits  because  people  wanted 
to  wed  the  maiden  to  a  bad  and  cruel  man,  —  that 
is  true,  Monsieur  de  Jennico,  —  I  told  him  that 
these  two  would  die  of  grief,  or  lose  their  souls, 
perhaps,  were  they  separated,  because  of  the  love 
they  bore  each  other.  .  .  .  There,  sir,  I  per- 
mitted myself  a  poetical  license !  To  be  brief,  I 
promised  him  in  your  name  what  seemed  a  great 
sum  for  his  poor,  a  thousand  thalers — you  will 
see  to  that  —  and  he  has  promised  me  to  wed 
you  on  Wednesday  night,  at  eight  of  the  clock, 
secretly,  in  his  poor  little  church.  He  is  so  old 
and  so  simple  it  was  like  misleading  a  child, 
but  nevertheless,  the  cause  being  good,  I  trust 
I  may  be  forgiven.  Drive  straight  to  the  church, 
and  there  you  will  find  one  who  will  direct 
you.  The  Princess  will  not  see  you  again  till 
she  meets  you  before  the  altar.  You  will  bring 
her  home  to  your  castle.  A  maid  will  accom- 
pany her.  And  that  is  all.  Adieu,  Monsieur  de 
Jennico." 

She  stretched  out  her  hand  and  her  voice 
trembled. 

"  You  will  not  see  the  maid  of  honour  perhaps 
ever  again.  Her  task  is  done,"  she  added. 

I  took  her  hand,  touched  by  her  accent  of  ear- 


88  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

nestness,  and  gratefully  awoke  to  the  fact  that 
she  alone  had  made  the  impossible  possible  to  my 
desire.  I  looked  at  her  face,  close  to  mine  in  the 
faint  light ;  and  as  she  smiled  at  me,  a  little  sadly, 
I  was  struck  with  the  delicate  beauty  of  the  curve 
of  her  lip,  and  the  exquisite  finishing  touch  of  the 
dimple  that  came  and  went  beside  it,  and  the 
thought  flashed  into  my  mind  —  "  That  little  maid 
may  one  day  blossom  into  the  sort  of  woman  that 
drives  men  mad." 

She  slipped  her  hand  from  mine  as  I  would 
have  kissed  it,  and  nodded  at  me  with  a  return 
of  the  cool  impudence  that  had  so  often  vexed 
me. 

"  Good-bye,  gallant  cavalier,"  she  said  mock- 
ingly. 

She  whistled  as  if  for  a  dog,  and  I  saw  the 
black  figure  of  the  nurse  start  from  the  shadow  of 
the  trees  a  few  yards  away,  and,  meeting,  they 
joined  in  the  mist  and  merged  swiftly  into  it. 

Whereupon  I  mounted  the  mare,  who  was  sorely 
tried  by  her  long  waiting;  and  as  we  cantered 
homewards  I  was  haunted,  through  the  extraordi- 
nary blaze  of  my  triumphant  thoughts,  to  my  own 
exasperation  and  surprise,  oddly  and  unwillingly, 
by  the  arch  sweetness  of  the  maid  ol  honour's 
smile. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  89 

And  once  (I  blushed  all  alone  in  the  darkness 
for  the  shame  of  such  a  thought  in  my  mind  at 
such  a  moment)  I  caught  myself  picturing  the 
sweetness  a  man  might  find  in  pressing  his  lips 
upon  the  tantalising  dimple. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  night  before  my  wedding-day — it  was  nat- 
ural  enough  —  there  was  a  restlessness  upon  me 
which  would  not  let  me  sleep,  or  think  of  sleep. 

When  supper  was  over  I  bade  my  servants  re- 
tire. They  had  thought  me  cracked,  and  with 
reason,  I  believe,  for  the  way  in  which  I  had  wan- 
dered about  the  house  all  day,  moving  and  shifting 
and  preparing,  and  giving  orders  to  no  seeming 
purpose.  I  sat  down  in  my  uncle's  room,  and, 
drawing  the  chair  he  had  died  in  opposite  his  por- 
trait, I  held  a  strange  conclave  with  (as  I  believed 
then)  his  ghost.  I  know  now  that  if  any  spirit 
communed  with  me  that  night  it  was  my  own  evil 
angel. 

I  had  had  the  light  set  where  it  best  illuminated 
the  well-known  countenance.  At  my  elbow  was  a 
goodly  bottle  of  his  famous  red  wine. 

"  Na,  old  one,"  said  I  aloud,  leaning  back  in  my 
chair  in  luxurious  self-satisfaction  and  proud  com- 
placency, "  am  I  doing  well  for  the  old  name  ? 
Who  knows  if  one  day  thou  countest  not  kings 
among  thy  descendants  ! " 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  91 

Methought  the  old  man  grinned  back  at  me,  his 
hideous  tusked  grin. 

"  'Tis  well,  Kerlchen,"  he  said. 

I  unrolled  the  pedigree.  That  cursed  parch- 
ment, what  a  part  it  has  played  in  my  life!  —  as 
evil  a  part,  as  fatal  as  the  apple  by  which  our  first 
parents  fell.  It  is  pride  that  damns  us  all !  And 
I  read  aloud  the  entries  I  had  made :  they  sounded 
very  well,  and  so  my  uncle  thought  —  or  seemed 
to  —  for  I  swear  he  winked  at  me  and  "said : 

"  Write  it  in  ink,  lad ;  that  must  stand  clear, 
for  das  klingt  schon." 

And  then,  though  I  was  very  comfortable,  I  had 
to  get  up  and  find  the  ink  and  engross  the  noble 
record  of  my  marriage,  filling  in  the  date  with 
care,  for  my  uncle,  dead  or  alive,  was  not  one  to 
disobey. 

"  'Tis  good,"  then  again  said  my  uncle,  "  and 
thou  dost  well.  But  remember,  without  I  had 
done  so  well,  lad,  thou  hadst  not  risen  thus.  And 
what,"  added  my  uncle,  sniggering,  "will  the  Brii- 
derl  say  when  he  hears  the  news  —  hey,  nephew 
Basil  ? " 

I  had  thought  of  that  myself:  it  was  another 
glorious  pull  over  the  renegade ! 

Whereupon  my  uncle  —  it  was  surely  the  proud 
fiend  himself  bent  upon  my  destruction  —  fell  to 


92  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

telling  me  I  must  write  to  my  family  at  once,  that 
the  letter  might  be  despatched  in  the  morning. 

I  protested.  I  was  bound  to  secrecy,  I  told 
him.  But  he  scowled,  and  would  have  it  that  I 
must  remember  my  duty  to  my  mother,  and  he  fur- 
ther made  me  a  very  long  sermon  upon  the  curses 
that  will  befall  a  bad  child.  And  thus  egged  on  — 
and  what  could  I  do  ?  —  I  indited  a  very  flaming 
document  indeed,  and  under  the  seal  of  the  strict- 
est confidence  made  my  poor  mother  acquainted 
with  all  the  greatness  her  son  was  bringing  into 
his  family,  and  bade  her  rejoice  with  him. 

The  night  was  well  worn  when  I  had  finished, 
and  the  bottle  of  potent  Burgundy  was  nearly 
out  too.  Then,  meaning  to  rise  and  withdraw,  I 
fell  asleep  in  my  chair.  It  was  grey  dawn  before 
I  awoke,  and  I  was  cold  as  I  stretched  myself  and 
staggered  to  my  feet.  In  the  weird  thin  light  my 
uncle's  face  now  shone  out  drawn  and  austere, 
with  something  of  the  look  I  remembered  it  to 
have  borne  in  death. 

•But  it  was  the  dawn  of  my  wedding-day,  and  I 
went  to  my  bed  —  stumbling  over  old  Janos,  who 
sat,  the  faithful  dog!  asleep  on  the  threshold  —  to 
dream  of  my  wedding  ...  a  wedding  with  royal 
pomp,  to  the  blare  of  trumpets  and  the  acclama- 
tions of  a  multitude : 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  93 

"  Jennico  hoch  — hoch  dem  edlen  Jennico  !  " 

The  village  of  Wilhelmsdhal  is  quite  an  hour's 
drive  (even  at  the  pace  of  my  good  horses)  along 
the  downhill  road  which  leads  from  my  uplifted 
mansion  into  the  valley  land ;  it  takes  two  hours 
for  the  return  way. 

For  safety's  sake  I  made  the  announcement  of 
my  approaching  marriage  to  the  household  as  late 
in  the  day  as  possible,  and,  though  sorely  tempted 
to  betray  the  exalted  rank  of  the  future  mistress  to 
the  astonished  major-domo,  to  whom  Janos,  with 
his  usual  imperturbability,  interpreted  my  com- 
mands, I  refrained,  with  a  sense  that  the  impres- 
sion created  would  only  after  all  be  heightened  if 
the  disclosure  were  withheld  till  the  actual  appari- 
tion of  the  newly-made  wife. 

But  in  the  vain  arrogance  of  my  delight  I  or- 
dered every  detail  of  the  reception  which  was  to 
greet  us,  and  which  I  was  determined  should  be 
magnificent  enough  to  make  up  for  the  enforced 
hole-and-corner  secrecy  of  the  marriage  ceremony. 

Schultz  the  factor,  my  chief  huntsman,  and  the 
highest  among  my  people  were  to  head  torch- 
light processions  of  their  particular  subordinates 
at  stated  places  along  the  avenue  that  led  upwards 
to  the  house.  There  was  to  be  feasting  and 
music  in  the  courtyard.  Flowers  were  to  be 


94  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

strewn  from  the  very  threshold  of  her  new  home 
to  the  door  of  my  Princess's  bridal  chamber. 

God  knows  all  the  extravagance  I  planned  !  It 
makes  me  sick  now  to  think  back  on  it ! 

And  the  wedding  !  Ah  !  that  was  a  wedding  to 
be  proud  of ! 

It  was  a  dull  and  cloudy  evening,  with  a  high, 
moist  wind  that  came  in  wild  gusts,  sweeping  over 
the  plains  and  tearing  the  leaves  from  the  forest 
trees,  bringing  with  it  now  a  swift  moonlit  clear- 
ing upon  the  lowering  face  of  heaven,  now  only 
thicker  darkness  and  torrents  of  rain.  It  was  all 
but  night  already  in  the  forest  roads  when  I 
started,  and  quite  night  as  I  emerged  from  out  of 
the  shelter  of  the  mountains  into  the  flat  country. 
Janos  sat  on  the  box  and  my  chasseurs  hung  on 
behind,  and  my  four  horses  kept  up  a  splendid 
pace  upon  the  level  ground.  I  had  dressed  very 
fine,  as  became  a  bridegroom  ;  but  fortunate  it 
was  that  I  had  brought  a  dark  cloak  with  me,  for 
a  fearful  burst  of  storm-rain  came  down  upon  me 
as  I  jumped  out  from  the  carriage  at  the  church 
door.  And  indeed,  despite  that  protection,  my 
fine  white  satin  clothes  were  splashed  with  mud, 
my  carefully  powdered  queue  sadly  disarranged 
in  the  few  steps  I  had  to  take  before  reach- 
ing shelter,  for  the  wind  blew  a  very  hurricane, 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  95 

and  the  rain  came  down  like  the  rain  of  the 
deluge. 

The  church  porch  was  lit  only  by  an  ill-trimmed 
wick  floating  in  a  saucer  of  oil ;  but  by  the  flicker- 
ing light,  envious  and  frail  as  it  was,  I  discerned 
at  once  the  figure  of  Mademoiselle  Ottilie's  nurse 
awaiting  us.  Without  a  word  she  beckoned  to  me 
to  follow  her  into  the  church. 

The  place  struck  cold  and  damp  with  a  death- 
like closeness  after  the  warm  blustering  air  I  had 
just  left.  It  was  even  darker  than  the  porch  out- 
side, its  sole  illumination  proceeding  from  the 
faint  glow  of  the  little  sanctuary  lamp  and  the 
sullen  yellow  flame  of  two  or  three  tallow  candles 
stuck  on  spikes  before  a  rough  wooden  statue  on  a 
pillar  at  one  side.  I,  flanked  by  Janos  and  his  two 
satellites,  followed  the  gaunt  figure  to  the  very 
altar  rails,  where,  with  an  imperious  gesture,  she 
signed  to  me  to  take  my  place. 

Before  turning  to  go  she  stood  still  a  second 
looking  at  me,  and  methought  —  or  it  may  have 
been  a  fancy  born  of  the  dismal  place  and  the 
dismal  gloom  — that  I  had  never  seen  a  human 
countenance  express  so  much  hatred  as  did  that 
woman's  in  the  mysterious  gleam  of  the  lamp.  My 
heart  contracted  with  an  omen  of  forthcoming  ill. 

Then  I  heard  her  feet  go  down  the  aisle,  the 


96  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

door  open  and  close,  and  we  were  left  alone.  In 
the  silence  of  the  church — the  most  poverty- 
stricken  and  desolate,  the  most  miserable,  the 
most  ruined  to  be  yet  used  as  the  House  of  God,  I 
think  I  had  ever  entered  —  at  the  foot  of  the  altar 
of  my  faith,  a  sudden  misgiving  seized  upon  me. 
How  would  all  this  end  ?  I  was  going  to  bind 
myself  for  life  with  the  most  solemn  vows.  Would 
all  the  honour  and  glory  of  the  alliance  compen- 
sate me  for  the  loss  of  my  liberty  ? 

I  was  only  twenty-six,  and  I  knew  of  her  who 
was  henceforth  to  be  my  second  self  no  more, 
rather  less,  than  I  knew  of  any  of  the  bare-footed 
maids  that  slipped  grinning  about  the  passages  of 
Tollendhal.  To  be  frank  with  myself,  the  glamour 
of  gratified  vanity  once  stripped  from  before  the 
eye  of  my  inmost  soul,  what  was  the  naked,  hid- 
eous truth  ?  I  had  no  more  love  for  her  —  man 
for  woman  —  than  for  rosy  Kathi  or  black-browed 
Sarolta ! 

Here  my  reflections  were  broken  in  upon  by 
that  very  patter  of  naked  soles  that  had  been  in 
my  thoughts,  and  a  little  ragged  boy,  in  a  dilapi- 
dated surplice,  ran  round  the  sanctuary  from  some 
back  door,  and  fell  to  lighting  a  pair  of  candles  on 
the  altar,  a  proceeding  which  only  seemed  once 
more  to  heighten  the  darkness.  Presently,  in  a 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  97 

surplice  and  cassock  as  tattered  as  his  acolyte's, 
with  long  white  hair  lying  unkempt  upon  his  shoul- 
ders, an  old  priest  —  in  sooth,  the  oldest  man  I  have 
ever  seen  alive,  I  believe  —  came  forth  with  totter- 
ing steps  ;  before  him  the  tattered  urchin,  behind 
him  a  sacristan  well-nigh  as  antique  as  himself, 
and  as  utterly  pauperised. 

These  were  to  be  the  ministers  of  my  grand 
marriage  ! 

But  almost  immediately  a  fresh  clamour  of  open- 
ing doors,  and  a  light,  sedate  footfall,  struck  my 
ear,  and  all  doubt  and  dismay  disappeared  like 
magic.  Closely  enveloped  in  the  folds  of  a  volu- 
minous dark  velvet  cloak,  with  its  hood  drawn 
forward  over  her  head,  and  beneath  this  shade  her 
face  muffled  in  the  gathers  of  a  white  lace  veil,  I 
knew  the  stately  height  of  my  bride  as  she  advanced 
towards  me  —  and  the  sight  of  her,  the  sound  of 
her  brave  step,  set  my  heart  dancing  with  the 
old  triumph. 

She  stood  beside  me,  and  as  the  words  were 
spoken  I  thought  no  more  of  the  mean  surround- 
ings, of  the  evil  omens,  of  the  responsibilities  and 
consequences  of  my  act.  It  was  nothing  to  me 
now  that  the  old  priest  who  wedded  us,  and  his 
companion  who  ministered  to  him,  should  look 
more  like  mouldering  corpses  than  living  men  — 
H 


98  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

that  the  nurse's  burning  eyes  should  still  seek  my 
face  with  evil  look.  I  had  no  thought  to  spare  for 
the  position  of  my  bride  herself  —  her  filial  dis- 
obedience, her  loneliness  —  no  feeling  of  tender- 
ness for  the  touching  character  of  her  confidence 
in  me  —  no  doubt  as  to  her  future  happiness  as 
my  wife,  nor  as  to  my  capacity  for  compensating 
her  for  the  sacrifice  of  so  much.  I  did  not  wonder 
at,  nay,  notice  even,  the  absence  of  the  lady-in- 
waiting  —  that  moving  spirit  of  our  courtship.  My 
whole  soul  was  possessed  with  triumph.  I  was 
self-centred  on  my  own  success.  The  words  were 
spoken ;  my  voice  rang  out  boldly,  but  hers  was 
the  barest  breath  of  speech  behind  her  muffling 
drapery.  I  slipped  the  ring  (it  had  been  my  aunt's), 
with  a  passing  wonder  that  it  should  prove  so  much 
too  large,  upon  the  slender  finger,  that  hardly  pro- 
truded from  a  fall  of  enveloping  lace. 

We  were  drenched  with  a  perfect  shower  of  holy 
water  out  of  a  tin  bucket ;  and  then,  man  and  wife, 
we  went  to  the  sacristy  to  sign  our  names  by  the 
light  of  one  smoking  tallow  candle. 

I  dashed  mine  forth  with  splendid  flourish — the 
good  old  name  of  Jennico  of  Farringdon  Dane  and 
Tollendhal,  all  my  qualifications,  territorial,  mili- 
tary, and  inherited.  And  she  penned  hers  in  the 
flowing  handwriting  I  already  knew,  Marie  Ottilie : 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  99 

the  lofty,  simple  signature,  as  I  thought  with 
swelling  heart,  of  sovereigns ! 

I  pressed  into  the  old  priest's  cold  fingers,  as  he 
peered  at  us  from  the  book,  right  and  left,  with 
dull,  bewildered  eyes,  in  which  I  thought  to  see 
the  dawn  of  a  vague  misgiving,  a  purse  bulging 
with  notes  to  the  value  of  double  the  sum  prom- 
ised ;  and  then,  with  her  hand  upon  my  arm,  I  led 
her  to  my  carriage. 

The  rain  had  begun  again  and  the  wind  was 
storming  when  we  drove  off,  my  wife  and  I.  And 
for  a  little  while  —  a  long  time  it  seemed  to  me  — 
there  was  silence  between  us,  broken  only  by  the 
beating  of  the  drops  against  the  panes  of  the  car- 
riage, and  the  steady  tramp  of  my  horses'  hoofs 
on  the  wet  road.  Now  that  I  had  accomplished 
my  wish,  a  strange  embarrassment  fell  upon  me. 
I  had  no  desire  to  speak  of  love  to  the  woman  I 
had  won.  I  had  won  her,  I  had  triumphed  —  that 
was  sufficient.  I  would  not  have  undone  my  deed 
for  the  world ;  but  none  the  less  the  man  who  finds 
himself  the  husband  and  has  never  been  the  lover 
is  placed  in  a  singular  position. 

I  looked  at  the  veiled  figure  beside  me  and  won- 
dered at  its  stillness.  The  light  of  the  little  lantern 
inside  the  carriage  flickered  upon  the  crimson  of 
the  velvet  cloak  and  the  white  folds  of  the  veil 


ioo  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

that  hid  her  face  from  me.  Then  I  awoke  to  the 
consciousness  of  the  sorry  figure  I  must  present 
in  her  eyes,  and,  drawing  from  my  pocket  a  ring, 
—  the  richest  I  had  been  able  to  find  among  my 
aunt's  rich  store,  —  I  took  the  hand  that  lay  half 
hidden  and  passive  beside  me,  meaning  to  slip  the 
jewel  ov~r  the  plain  gold  circlet  I  had  already 
placed  upon  it.  Now,  as  I  took  the  hand  into  my 
own,  I  was  struck  with  its  smallness,  its  slenderness, 
its  lightness  ;  I  remembered  that  even  in  the  dark 
church,  and  with  but  the  tips  of  the  fingers  rest- 
ing in  my  own,  a  similar  impression  had  vaguely 
struck  me.  I  lifted  it,  spread  out  the  little,  long, 
thin  fingers  —  too  often  had  I  kissed  the  dimpled 
firm  hand  of  her  Serene  Highness  not  to  know  the 
difference !  This  was  my  wife's  hand  ;  there  was 
my  ring.  But  who  was  my  wife  ? 

I  felt  like  a  man  in  a  bad  dream.  I  do  not 
know  if  I  spoke  or  not ;  but  every  fibre  of  me  was 
crying  out  aloud,  as  it  were,  in  a  frenzy.  I  suppose 
I  turned,  or  looked  ;  at  any  rate  my  companion,  as 
if  in  answer  to  a  question,  said  composedly : 

"  Yes,  sir,  it  is  so."  At  the  same  moment,  put- 
ting up  her  veil  with  her  right  hand,  she  disclosed 
to  me  the  features  of  Ottilie,  the  lady-in-waiting. 


CHAPTER  VII 

I  MUST  have  stared  like  a  madman.  For  very 
fear  of  my  own  violence,  I  dared  not  move  or 
speak.  Mademoiselle  Ottilie,  or,  to  call  her  by 
her  proper  name,  Madame  de  Jennico,  very  com- 
posedly removed  her  veil  from  her  hair,  pushed 
back  her  hood,  and  withdrew  the  hand  which  I 
still  unconsciously  clutched.  Then  she  turned 
and  looked  at  me  as  if  waiting  for  me  to  speak 
first.  I  said  in  a  sort  of  whisper : 

"  What  does  this  mean  ? " 

"  It  means,  Monsieur  de  Jennico,  that,  for  your 
own  good,  you  have  been  deceived." 

There  was  a  little  quiver  in  her  voice.  Was  it 
fear  ?  Was  it  mockery  ?  I  thought  the  latter, 
and  the  strenuous  control  I  was  endeavouring  to 
put  upon  my  seething  passion  of  fury  and  bewil- 
derment broke  down.  I  threw  up  my  arms,  the  nat- 
ural gesture  of  a  man  driven  beyond  bounds,  and 
as  I  did  so  felt  the  figure  beside  me  make  a  sud- 
den, abrupt  movement.  I  thought  that  she  shrank 
from  me  —  that  she  feared  lest  I,  /,  Basil  Jennico, 
would  strike  her,  a  woman  !  This  aroused  me  at 

101 


IO2  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

once  to  a  sense  of  my  own  position,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  one  of  bitterest  contempt  for  her. 
But  as  I  wheeled  round  to  gaze  at  her,  I  saw  that 
whatever  charges  might  be  laid  upon  her  —  and 
God  knows  she  had  wrought  a  singular  evil  upon 
me !  —  the  accusation  of  cowardice  could  not  be 
part  of  them.  Her  face  showed  white,  indeed, 
in  the  pale  light,  her  features  set ;  but  her  eyes 
looked  fearlessly  into  mine.  Every  line  of  her 
figure  expressed  the  most  dauntless  determination. 
She  was  braced  to  endure,  ready  to  face,  what  she 
had  drawn  upon  herself.  This  was  no  craven, 
rather  the  very  spirit  of  daring. 

"  In  God's  name,"  I  cried,  "  why  have  you  done 
this?" 

"And  did  you  think,"  she  said,  looking  at  me, 
I  thought,  with  a  sort  of  pity,  "that  princesses, 
out  of  fairy  tales,  are  so  ready  to  marry  lovers  of 
low  degree,  no  matter  how  rich  or  how  gallant  ? 
Oh,  I  know  what  you  would  say  —  that  you  are 
well-born ;  but  for  all  that,  princesses  do  not  wed 
with  such  as  you,  sir ! " 

Every  drop  of  my  blood  revolted  against  the 
smart  of  this  humiliation.  Stammering  and  pro- 
testing, my  wrath  overflowed  my  lips. 

"But  this  deception,  —  this  impossible,  insane 
fraud, — what  is  its  object  ?  What  is  your  object  ? 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  103 

You  encouraged  me  —  you  incited  me.  Confu- 
sion ! "  I  cried  and  clasped  my  head.  "  I  think  I 
am  going  mad !  " 

"  Her  Serene  Highness  thought  that  she  would 
like  to  see  me  settled  in  life,"  said  my  bride,  with 
the  old  look  of  derision  on  her  face. 

I  seized  her  hand. 

"  It  was  the  Princess's  plan,  then  ? "  I  asked  in 
a  whisper ;  and  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  everything 
turned  to  crimson  before  my  eyes. 

She  met  my  look  —  and  it  must  have  been 
a  terrible  one  —  with  the  same  dauntlessness  as 
before,  and  answered,  after  a  little  pause,  with 
cool  deliberation : 

"Yes,  it  was  the  Princess's  plan." 

The  carriage  drove  on  through  the  rain;  and 
again  there  was  silence  between  us.  My  pulses 
beat  loud  in  my  ears ;  I  saw,  as  if  written  in  fire, 
the  whole  devilish  plot  to  humiliate  me  for  my  pre- 
sumption. I  saw  myself  as  I  must  appear  to  that 
high-born  lady  —  a  ridiculous  aspirant  whose  claim 
was  too  absurd  even  to  be  seriously  dealt  with. 
And  she,  the  creature  who  had  lent  herself  to  my 
shame,  without  whose  glib  tongue  and  pert  auda- 
cious counsels  I  had  never  presumed,  who  had  dared 
to  carry  out,  smiling,  so  gross  a  fraud,  to  wear  my 
ring  and  front  me  still — how  was  I  to  deal  with  her? 


IO4  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

These  were  the  thoughts  that  surged  backward 
and  forwards  in  my  mind,  futile  wreckage  on  > 
stormy  sea,  in  the  first  passion  of  my  anger. 

"  You  know,"  I  said  at  last,  and  felt  like  a  man 
who  touches  solid  earth  at  last,  "that  this  is  no 
marriage." 

Her  countenance  expressed  at  this  the  most 
open  amazement  and  the  most  righteous  indig- 
nation. 

"How,  sir,"  she  cried  —  "has  not  the  priest 
wedded  us  ?  Are  we  not  of  the  same  faith,  and 
does  not  the  same  Church  bind  us  ?  Have  not 
we  together  received  a  most  solemn  sacrament  ? 
Have  not  you,  Basil,  and  I,  Marie  Ottilie,  sworn 
faith  to  each  other  until  death  do  us  part  ?  You 
may  like  it  or  not,  Monsieur  de  Jennico,  but  we 
are  none  the  less  man  and  wife,  as  fast  as  Church 
can  make  us." 

As  she  spoke  she  smiled  again,  and  looked  at 
me  with  that  dimple  coming  and  going  beside  the 
curve  of  her  lip. 

As  they  say  men  do  at  the  point  of  some 
violent  death,  so  I  saw  in  the  space  of  a  second 
my  whole  life  stretched  before  me,  past  and 
future. 

I  saw  the  two  alternatives  that  lay  to  my  hand, 
and  their  full  consequences. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  105 

I  knew  what  the  audacious  little  deceiver  beside 
me  ignored  —  that  it  rested  upon  my  pleasure 
alone  to  acknowledge  or  not  the  validity  of  this 
marriage.  Let  me  take  the  step  which  as  a  man 
of  honour  I  ought  to  take,  which  as  a  Jennico  and 
my  uncle's  heir  I  was  pledged  in  conscience  to 
take,  it  was  to  hold  myself  up  to  universal  mock- 
ery—  and  I  should  lay  bare  before  a  grinning 
world  the  whole  extent  of  my  pretensions  and 
their  requital. 

On  the  other  hand,  let  me  keep  my  secret  for  a 
while  and  seemingly  accept  my  wife :  the  whole 
point  of  the  cursed  jest  would  fail. 

Let  me  show  the  Princess  that  my  love  for  her 
was  not  so  overpowering,  nor  my  disappointment 
so  heart-breaking,  but  that  I  had  been  able  to  find 
temporary  compensation  in  the  substitute  with 
whom  she  had  herself  provided  me.  There  are 
more  souls  lost,  I  believe,  through  the  fear  of  ridi- 
cule than  through  all  the  temptations  of  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil ! 

My  resolution  was  promptly  taken  :  my  revenge 
would  be  more  exquisite  and  subtle  than  the  trick 
that  had  been  played  upon  me. 

I  would  take  her  to  my  home,  this  damsel  whom 
no  feeling  of  maidenly  restraint,  of  womanly  com- 
passion, had  kept  from  acting  so  base  a  part ;  and 


lo6  The  Pride  of  Jennlco 

for  a  while,  at  least,  not  all  the  world  should  guess 
but  that  in  winning  her  my  dearest  wish  had  been 
accomplished.  Afterwards,  when  I  had  tamed  that 
insolent  spirit,  when  I  had  taught  this  wild  tassel- 
gentle  to  come  to  my  hand  and  fly  at  my  bidding — 
and  I  smiled  to  myself  as  I  laid  that  plan  which  was 
full  as  cruel  as  the  deception  that  had  been  prac- 
tised upon  me,  and  which  I  am  ashamed  to  set  out 
in  black  and  white  before  me  now  —  afterwards, 
when  I  chose  to  repudiate  the  woman  who  had 
usurped  my  name  through  the  most  barefaced 
imposture,  if  I  knew  the  law  both  of  land  and 
Church,  I  could  not  be  gainsaid.  I  had  warned  her 
that  this  marriage  was  no  marriage.  What  could 
a  gentleman  do  more  ? 

A  sudden  calmness  fell  over  me ;  it  struck  me 
that  the  laugh  would  be  on  my  side  after  all. 

My  companion  was  first  to  speak.  She  settled 
herself  in  the  corner  of  the  carriage  something  like 
a  bird  that  settles  down  in  its  nest,  and,  still  with 
her  eyes,  which  now  looked  very  dark  in  the  uncer- 
tain light,  fixed  upon  me,  said  in  a  tone  of  the 
utmost  security : 

"You  can  beat  me  of  course,  if  you  like,  and 
you  can  murder  me  if  you  are  very,  very  angry ; 
but  you  cannot  undo  what  is  done.  I  am  your 
wife ! "  She  gave  a  little  nod  which  was  the  perfec- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  107 

tion  of  impudence.  She  was  like  some  wild  thing 
of  the  woods  that  has  never  seen  a  human  being 
before,  and  is  absolutely  fearless  because  of  its  abso- 
lute ignorance.  I  ought  to  have  pitied  her,  seeing 
how  young,  how  childish,  she  was.  But  though 
there  sprang  into  my  heart  strange  feelings,  and 
that  dimple  tempted  me  more  and  more,  there 
was  no  relenting  in  my  angry  soul.  Only  I  told 
myself  that  my  revenge  would  be  sweet.  And  I 
was  half  distraught,  I  think,  between  the  conflict 
of  pride,  disappointment,  and  the  strange  allur- 
ing charm  that  this  being  who  had  so  betrayed  me 
was  yet  beginning  to  have  upon  me. 

The  speed  of  our  four  horses  was  slackening ; 
we  were  already  on  the  mountain  road  which  led  to 
my  castle.  There  was  a  glimmer  of  moon  again, 
the  rain-beat  was  silent  on  the  panes,  and  I  could 
see  from  a  turning  in  the  road  the  red  gleam  of  the 
torch-bearers  whom  I  had  ordered  for  the  bridal 
welcome. 

The  monstrous  absurdity  of  the  situation  struck 
me  afresh,  and  my  resolution  grew  firmer.  How 
could  I  expose  myself,  a  poor  tricked  fool,  to  the 
eyes  of  that  people  who  regarded  me  as  something 
not  unlike  a  demi-god?  No,  I  would  keep  the 
woman.  She  had  sought  me,  not  I  her.  I  would 
keep  her  for  a  space  at  least,  and  let  no  man  sus- 


IO8  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

pect  that  she  was  not  my  choice.  And  then,  in 
the  ripeness  of  time,  when  I  would  sell  this  old 
rook's  nest  and  betake  me  home  to  England  as  a 
dutiful  nephew,  why,  then  my  lady  Princess  should 
have  her  maid  of  honour  back  again,  and  see ,  if 
she  would  find  it  so  easy  to  settle  her  in  life  once 
morel  What  pity  should  I  have  upon  her  who 
had  no  pity  for  me,  who  had  sold  her  maiden 
pride  in  such  a  sordid  barter  for  a  husband  ?  This 
was  no  mere  tool  of  a  woman's  scorn.  No  !  Con- 
temned by  her  I  had  wooed,  played  with,  no  doubt 
I  had  been  ;  but  I  had  seen  enough  of  the  relations 
of  the  two  girls  not  to  know  well  who  was  the 
moving  spirit  in  all  their  actions.  This  lady  had 
had  an  eye  to  her  own  interests  while  lending  her- 
self to  my  humiliation.  Thinking  upon  it  now 
with  as  cool  a  brain  as  I  might,  —  and  once  I  had 
settled  upon  my  resolve,  the  first  frenzy  of  my  rage 
died  away,  —  I  told  myself  that  the  new  Madam 
Jennico  lied  when  she  said  it  was  altogether  the 
Princess's  plan ;  and  indeed  I  afterwards  heard 
from  her  own  lips  that  in  this  I  had  guessed  but  a 
third  of  the  actual  truth. 

And  now,  as  we  were  drawing  close  to  the  first 
post  where  my  over-docile  and  zealous  retainers 
were  already  raising  a  fearful  clamour,  and  I 
must  perforce  assume  some  attitude  to  face  the 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  109 

people,  I  turned  to  my  strange  bride,  and  said 
to  her: 

"Do  you  think,  then,  it  is  the  right  of  a  hus- 
band to  strike  or  slay  his  wife  ?  If  so,  I  marvel 
that  you  should  have  been  so  eager  to  enter  upon 
the  wedded  state." 

She  put  out  her  hand  to  me,  and  for  the  first 
time  her  composure  wavered.  The  tears  welled 
into  her  eyes  and  her  lip  quivered. 

"  No,"  she  said ;  "  and  therefore  I  chose  you, 
Monsieur  de  Jennico,  not  for  your  fine  riches,  not 
for  your  pedigree," — and  here,  the  little  demon! 
it  seemed  she  could  not  refrain  from  a  malicious 
smile  under  the  very  mist  of  her  tears,  —  "but 
because  you  are  an  Englishman,  and  incapable  of 
harshness  to  a  woman." 

"  And  so,"  said  I,  not  believing  her  disinterested 
asseveration  a  whit,  but  with  a  queer  feeling  at  my 
heart  at  once  bitterly  angry  at  each  word  that 
betrayed  the  determination  of  her  deceit  and  her 
most  unwomanly  machinations,  and  yet,  and  yet 
strangely  melted  to  her,  "it  is  reckoning  on  my 
weak  good-nature  that  you  have  played  me  this 
trick  ? " 

"  No,  sir,"  she  said,  flushing,  "  I  reckoned  on  your 
manliness."  And  then  she  added,  with  the  most 
singular  simplicity  :  "  I  liked  you,  besides,  too  well 


HO  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

to  see  you  unhappily  married,  and  the  other  Ottilie 
would  have  made  you  a  wretched  wife." 

I  burst  out  laughing,  for,  by  the  manes  of  my 
great-uncle,  the  explanation  was  comic !  And  she 
fell  to  laughing  too,  —  my  servants  must  have 
thought  we  were  a  merry  couple !  And,  as  she 
laughed  and  I  looked  at  her,  knowing  her  now  my 
own,  and  looking  at  her  therefore  with  other  eyes, 
I  deemed  I  had  never  seen  a  woman  laugh  to  such 
bewitching  purpose!  And  though  I  was  full  of 
my  cruel  intent,  and  though  I  dubbed  her  false 
and  shameless  and  as  deceitful  a  little  cat  as  ever 
a  man  could  meet,  yet  the  dimple  drew  me,  and  I 
put  my  arms  around  her  and  kissed  it.  As  my  lips 
touched  hers  I  knew  I  was  a  lost  man  ! 

The  next  moment  we  were  surrounded  with  a 
tribe  of  leaping  peasants,  the  horses  were  plunging, 
torches  were  waving  and  casting  shadows  upon  the 
savage,  laughing  faces.  If  I  had  cursed  myself  for 
my  happy  thought  before,  I  cursed  myself  still 
more  now;  but  the  situation  had  to  be  accepted. 
And  the  way  in  which  my  bride,  blushing  crimson 
from  my  kiss,  —  she  who  had  no  blush  to  spare  for 
herself  before  this  night,  adapted  herself  to  it  was 
a  marvel  to  me,  as  indeed  all  that  I  was  to  see  or 
learn  of  her  during  our  brief  moon  of  wedded  life 
was  likewise  to  prove. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  ill 

I  am  bound  to  say  that  the  Princess  herself  could 
not  have  behaved  with  a  better  grace  than  this 
burgher  daughter  amid  the  wild  peasants  and  their 
almost  Eastern  fashion  of  receiving  their  liege  lady. 

Within  a  little  distance  of  the  house  it  became 
impossible  to  advance  with  the  carriage,  and  we 
were  fain  to  order  a  halt  and  alight  all  in  the 
stormy  wind,  and  proceed  on  foot  through  the 
throng  which  had  gathered  thick  and  close  about 
the  gates,  and  which  even  Schultz's  stout  cane 
failed  to  disperse.  My  wife  —  I  did  not  call  her  so 
then  in  my  mind,  but  now  I  can  call  her  by  no 
other  name  —  my  wife  passed  through  them  as  if 
she  had  done  nothing  all  her  life  but  receive  the 
homage  of  the  people.  She  gave  her  hand  to  be 
kissed  to  half  a  hundred  fierce  lips ;  she  smiled  at 
the  poor  women  who  clutched  the  hem  of  her 
gown  and  knelt  before  her.  The  flush  my  kiss 
had  called  into  being  had  not  yet  faded  from  her 
cheek ;  there  was  a  light  in  her  eye,  a  smile  upon 
her  lip.  As  I  looked  at  her  and  watched  I  could 
not  but  admit  that  there  was  no  need  for  me  to 
feel  ashamed  of  her,  that  night. 

I  had  sworn  to  give  my  bride  a  royal  reception, 
and  a  royal  reception  she  received. 

Schultz  had  generously  carried  out  his  instruc- 
tions. We  sat  down  to  a  sumptuous  meal  which 


112  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

would  not  have  misbefitted  the  Emperor  himself. 
I  could  not  eat.  The  acclamations  and  the  rejoic- 
ings struck  cold  upon  my  ear.  But  the  bride  — 
enigma  to  me  then  as  now — sat  erect  in  her  great 
chair  at  the  other  end  of  the  great  table,  and 
smiled  and  drank  and  feasted  daintily,  and  met  my 
eye  now  and  again  with  as  pretty  and  as  blushing 
a  look  as  if  I  had  chosen  her  among  a  thousand. 
The  gipsies  played  their  maddening  music  —  the 
music  of  my  dream  —  and  the  cries  in  the  court- 
yard rose  now  and  then  to  a  very  clamour  of 
enthusiasm.  Schultz,  with  a  truly  German  senti- 
mentality, had  presented  his  new  mistress  with  a 
large  bouquet  of  white  flowers.  The  smell  of  them 
turned  me  faint.  I  knew  that  in  the  great  room 
beyond,  all  illuminated  by  a  hundred  wax  candles, 
was  the  portrait  of  mv  uncle,  stern  and  solitary.  I 
would  not  have  dared  to  go  into  that  room  that  night 
to  have  met  the  look  of  his  single  watchful  eye. 

And  yet,  O  God  !  how  are  we  made  and  of 
what  strange  clay !  What  would  I  not  give  now 
to  be  back  at  that  hour !  What  would  I  not  give 
to  see  her  there  at  the  head  of  my  board  once 
more  !  What  is  all  the  world  to  me — what  all  the 
traditions  of  my  family — what  even  the  knowledge 
of  her  deceit  and  my  humiliation,  compared  with 
the  waste  and  desolation  of  my  life  without  her! 


CHAPTER  VIII 

AND  now  what  I  must  set  down  of  myself  is  so 
passing  strange  that  had  I  not,  I  myself,  lived 
through  it,  were  I  not  now  in  an  earthly  hell  for 
the  mere  want  of  her,  I  could  not  have  believed 
that  human  nature  —  above  all  the  superior  quality 
of  human  nature  appertaining  to  Basil  Jennico  — 
could  be  so  weak  a  thing. 

I  had  meant  to  be  master :  I  found  myself  a 
slave !  And  slave  of  what  ?  A  dimple,  a  pair  of 
yellow  eyes,  veiled  by  long  black  lashes  —  a  saucy 
child ! 

I  had  meant  to  have  held  her  merely  as  my  toy, 
at  the  whim  of  my  will  and  pleasure  :  and  behold  ! 
the  very  sound  of  her  voice,  the  fall  of  her  light 
foot,  would  set  my  blood  leaping ;  under  the  glance 
of  her  wilful  eye  my  whole  being  would  become  as 
wax  to  the  flame. 

In  olden  days  people  would  have  said  I  was 
bewitched. 

I  think,  looking  back  on  it  all  now,  that  it  was 
perhaps  her  singular  dissimilarity  from  any  other 
woman  I  had  ever  met  that  began  the  spell.  Had 
i  113 


114  The  Pride  of  Jennko 

she  opposed  to  my  anger,  on  that  memorable  night 
of  our  marriage,  the  ordinary  arms  of  a  woman  dis- 
covered; had  she  wept,  implored,  bewailed  her 
fate,  who  shall  say  that,  even  at  the  cost  of  my 
vanity,  I  might  not  have  driven  her  straight  back 
to  her  Princess?  Who  shall  say  that  I  should 
have  wished  to  keep  her,  even  to  save  myself  from 
ridicule  ?  It  is  impossible  for  me  now  to  unravel 
the  tangled  threads  of  that  woof  that  has  proved 
the  winding-sheet  of  my  young  happiness ;  but 
this  I  know  —  this  of  my  baseness  and  my  better 
nature  —  that  once  I  had  kissed  her  I  was  no 
longer  a  free  man.  And  every  day  that  passed, 
every  hour  I  spent  beside  her,  welded  closer  and 
firmer  the  chains  of  my  servitude. 

She  was  an  enigma  which  I  ever  failed  to  solve. 
That  alone  was  alluring.  Judged  by  her  actions, 
most  barefaced  little  schemer,  most  arrant  advent- 
uress plotting  for  a  wealthy  match,  there  was  yet 
something  about  her  which  absolutely  forbade  me 
to  harbour  in  her  presence  an  unworthy  thought 
of  her.  Guilty  of  deceit  such  as  hers  had  been 
towards  me,  she  ought  to  have  displayed  either  a 
conscience-stricken  or  a  brazen  soul:  I  found  her 
emanate  an  atmosphere  not  only  of  childlike  inno- 
cence but  of  lofty  purity  that  often  made  me  blush 
for  my  grosser  imaginings. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  115 

She  ought,  by  rights,  to  have  feared  me  —  to 
have  been  humble  at  least :  she  was  as  proud  as 
Lucifer  before  the  fall  and  as  fearless  as  he  when 
he  dared  defy  his  Creator.  She  ought  to  have 
mistrusted  me,  shown  doubt  of  how  I  would  treat 
her :  and  alas !  in  what  words  could  I  describe  the 
confidence  she  gave  me  ?  so  generous,  so  sublime, 
so  guileless.  It  would  have  forced  one  less  enam- 
oured than  myself  into  endeavouring  to  deserve  it 
for  very  shame ! 

A  creature  of  infinite  variety  of  moods,  with 
never  a  sour  one  among  them ;  the  serenest  temper 
and  the  merriest  heart  I  have  ever  known ;  a  laugh 
to  make  an  old  man  young,  and  a  smile  to  make  a 
young  man  mad ;  as  fresh  as  spring ;  as  young  and 
as  fanciful !  I  never  knew  in  what  word  she  would 
answer  me,  what  thing  she  would  do,  in  what 
humour  I  should  find  her.  Yet  her  tact  was  ex- 
quisite. She  dared  all  and  never  bruised  a  fibre 
(till  that  last  terrible  day,  my  poor  lost  love !). 
And  besides  and  beyond  this,  there  was  yet  an- 
other thing  about  her  which  drew  me  on  till  I  was 
all  lost  in  love.  She  was  elusive.  I  never  felt 
sure  of  her,  never  felt  that  she  was  wholly  mine. 
Her  tenderness  —  oh,  my  God,  her  tenderness !  — « 
was  divine,  and  yet  I  felt  I  had  not  all  she  had  to 
give.  There  was  still  a  secret  hanging  upon  that 


Ii6  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

exquisite  lip,  a  mystery  that  I  had  yet  to  solve,  a 
land  that  lay  unexplored  before  me.  And  it  comes 
upon  me  like  madness,  now  that  she  is  gone  from 
me,  perhaps  for  ever,  that  I  may  never  know  the 
word  of  the  riddle. 

I  have  said  that  the  past  is  like  a  dream  to  look 
back  upon ;  no  part  of  it  is  more  dreamlike  than 
the  days  which  followed  my  strange  wedding. 
They  seemed  to  melt  into  each  other,  and  yet  it  is 
the  memory  of  them  which  is  at  once  my  joy  and 
my  torture  now. 

At  first  she  did  not  touch,  nor  did  I,  upon  the 
question  which  lay  like  a  covered  fire  always  smoul- 
dering between  us ;  and  in  a  while  it  came  about 
with  me  that  I  lived  as  a  gambler  upon  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  moment.  And  though  in  my  heart  I 
had  not  told  myself  yet  that  I  would  give  up  my 
revenge,  —  though  it  was  hidden  there,  a  sleeping 
viper,  cruel  and  implacable,  —  I  strove  to  forget  it, 
strove  to  think  neither  of  the  future  nor  of  the 
past.  I  hung  a  curtain  over  my  uncle's  picture, 
at  which  old  Jdnos  nearly  broke  his  heart.  I 
rolled  up  the  pedigree  very  tight  and  rammed  it 
into  a  drawer  .  .  .  and  the  autumn  days  seemed 
all  too  short  for  the  golden  hours  they  gave  me. 

No  one  came  to  disturb  us  in  our  solitude,  no 
hint  from  the  outer  world.  We  two  were  as  apart 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  117 

m  our  honeymoon  as  the  most  jealous  lovers  could 
wish.  I  knew  not  what  had  become  of  the  Prin- 
cess. In  very  truth  I  could  not  bear  to  think  of 
her ;  the  memory  of  the  absurd  part  I  had  been 
made  to  play  was  so  unpalatable,  was  associated 
with  so  much  that  was  painful  and  humiliating, 
and  brought  with  it  such  a  train  of  disquieting 
reflections  that  I  drove  it  from  me  systematically. 
I  never  wanted  to  see  the  woman  again,  to  hear 
her  voice,  or  even  learn  what  had  become  of  her. 
That  I  never  had  one  particle  of  lover's  love  for 
her  was  plainer  than  ever  to  me  now,  in  the  midst 
of  the  new  feelings  with  which  my  unsought  bride 
inspired  me.  I  knew  what  love  meant  at  last,  and 
would  at  times  be  filled  with  an  angry  contempt 
for  myself,  that  she  who  had  proved  herself  so  all 
unworthy  should  be  the  one  to  have  this  power 
upon  me. 

Thus  the  days  went  by  quite  aimlessly.  And 
by-and-by  as  they  went  the  thought  of  what  I  had 
planned  to  do  became  less  and  less  welcome  to 
me,  not  (to  my  shame  be  it  said)  for  its  wicked- 
ness, but  because  I  could  not  contemplate  life 
without  my  present  happiness.  And  after  yet  a 
while  the  idea  (at  first  rejected  as  monstrous, 
impossible,  nay,  even  as  a  base  breach  of  faith  to 
my  dead  uncle)  that  I  might  make  the  sacrifice  of 


n8  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

my  Jennico  pride  and  actually  content  myself  after 
all  with  this  unfit  alliance,  began  to  take  shape 
within  me.  Gradually  this  idea  grew  dearer  to 
me  hour  by  hour,  though  I  still  in  secret  held  to 
the  possibility  of  my  other  plan,  as  a  sort  of  "  rod 
in  pickle"  over  the  head  of  my  perverse  com- 
panion, and  caressed  it  now  and  again  in  my 
inmost  soul  —  when  she  was  most  provoking  —  as 
a  method  to  bring  her  to  my  knees  in  dire  humili- 
ation, but  only  to  have  the  ultimate  sweetness  of 
nobly  forgiving  her.  For  Ottilie  was  far  from 
showing  a  proper  spirit  of  contrition  or  a  fitting 
sense  of  what  she  owed  me ;  and  this  galled  me  at 
times  to  the  quick.  I  had  never  ceased  to  enter- 
tain the  resolve  of  taming  the  wild  little  lady, 
although  I  found  it  increasingly  difficult  to  begin 
the  process. 

Alone  we  were  by  no  means  lonely,  even  though 
the  days  fell  away  into  a  month's  length.  We 
rode  together,  we  drove,  we  walked  ;  she  chattered 
like  a  magpie,  and  I  never  knew  a  second's  dul- 
ness.  She  whipped  my  blood  for  me  like  a  frosty 
wind,  and,  or  so  it  seemed  to  me,  took  a  new 
bloom,  a  new  beauty  in  her  happiness.  For  she 
was  happy.  The  only  sour  visage  in  Tollendhal 
at  the  time  was,  I  think,  that  of  the  strange  nurse. 
I  had  found  her  waiting  in  my  wife's  bedroom  the 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  119 

night  of  our  home-coming.  She  never  spoke  to 
me  during  the  whole  time  of  her  stay,  nor  to 
Schultz,  although  he  was  her  countryman.  With 
the  others,  of  course  (saving  Janos)  she  could  not 
have  exchanged  a  word,  and  but  that  she  spoke 
with  her  mistress  sometimes,  I  should  have  thought 
her  dumb.  That  woman  hated  me.  I  have  seen 
her  eyes  follow  me  about  as  if  she  would  willingly 
murder  me ;  but  her  nursling  she  loved  in  quite  as 
vehement  a  fashion,  and  therefore  I  bore  with  her. 

We  had  been  married  a  week  when  Ottilie  first 
made  allusion  to  the  Princess.  We  were  to  ride 
out  on  that  day,  and  she  came  down  to  breakfast 
all  equipped  but  for  one  boot. 

I  have  never  seen  so  daintily  untidy  a  person  as 
she  was  in  all  my  life.  Her  hair  smelt  of  fresh 
violets,  but  there  was  always  a  twist  out  of  place, 
or  a  little  curl  that  had  broken  loose.  Her  clothes 
were  of  singular  fineness  and  richness,  but  she 
would  tear  them  and  tatter  them  like  a  very 
schoolgirl  romp.  And  so  that  morning  she  tripped 
in  with  one  pink  satin  bedroom  slipper  and  one 
yellow  leather  riding  boot.  I  would  not  let  her 
send  for  her  dark-visaged  attendant  to  repair  the 
neglect,  but  fetched  the  boot  myself  and  knelt  to 
put  it  on.  As  I  took  off  the  slipper  I  paused  for 
a  moment  weighing  it  in  my  hand.  It  was  so 


I2O  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

littie  a  thing,  so  slender,  so  pretty  !  She  looked 
down  at  me  with  a  smile,  and  said  composedly : 

"  Do  you  think,  sir,  that  the  other  Ottilie  could 
have  put  on  that  shoe  ? " 

It  was,  as  I  said,  the  first  time  that  the  subject 
had  been  mentioned  between  us  since  the  night  of 
our  marriage.  I  felt  as  if  a  cloud  came  over  me, 
and  looked  up  darkly  at  her.  It  was  not  wise, 
surely,  I  thought  in  my  heart,  to  touch  upon  what 
I  was  willing  to  forget.  But  she  had  no  misgiv- 
ing. She  slipped  out  from  under  her  long  riding 
skirt  the  small  unbooted  foot  in  its  shining  pink 
silk  stocking,  and  said  : 

"You  would  not  have  liked,  Monsieur  de  Jen- 
nico, to  have  acted  lady's-maid  to  her,  for  you  are 
very  fastidious,  as  it  did  not  take  me  long  to  find 
out.  Oh,"  she  went  on,  "if  you  knew  how  grate- 
ful you  ought  to  be  to  me  for  preventing  you  from 
marrying  her !  You  would  have  been  so  unhappy, 
and  you  deserved  a  better  fate." 

"But  I  thought,"  said  I — and  such  was  my 
weakness  that  the  sight  of  her  pretty  foot  took 
away  my  anger,  and  I  was  all  lost  in  the  discovery 
of  how  everything  about  her  seemed  to  curve : 
her  hair  in  its  ripples,  her  lip  in  its  arch,  her 
nostrils,  her  little  chin,  her  lithe  young  waist, 
and  now,  her  foot  — "I  thought,"  and  as  I  spoke 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  121 

I  took  it  into  my  hand,  "it  was  the  Princess's 
plan." 

"  Did  I  say  so  ? "  she  said  lightly.  "  That  woman 
was  never  capable  of  a  plan  in  her  life  !  No,  sir, 
I  always  made  her  do  what  I  liked.  Her  intel- 
ligence was  just  brilliant  enough  to  allow  her 
to  realise  that  she  had  better  follow  my  advice. 
Will  you  put  on  my  boot,  sir  ?  Ah !  what  treach- 
ery." I  held  her  tightly  by  the  heel  and  looked 
up  well  pleased  at  her  laughing  face  —  I  loved  to 
watch  her  laugh  —  and  then  I  kissed  her  silk  stock- 
ing and  put  the  boot  on.  To  such  depths  had  I 
come  in  my  unreasoning  infatuation.  I  felt  no 
anger  with  her  for  the  revelation  which,  indeed, 
as  I  think  I  have  previously  set  down,  was  from 
the  beginning  scarcely  news  to  me.  I  had  yet  to 
learn  how  completely  innocent  of  all  complicity  in 
the  deception  played  upon  me  was  her  poor  Se- 
renity, how  innocent  even  of  the  pride  and  con- 
tempt I  still  attributed  to  her  ! 

The  season  for  the  chase  had  opened ;  once  or 
twice  I  had  already  been  out  with  the  keepers 
after  stags,  or  wild  boars,  and  my  wife,  a  pretty 
figure  in  her  three-cornered  hat  and  fine  green 
riding  suit,  had  ridden  courageously  at  my  side. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  third  week  we  made  a 
journey  higher  into  the  mountains  and  stayed  a 


122  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

few  days  at  a  certain  hunting-box,  the  absolute 
isolation  of  which  seemed  by  contrast  to  make 
Tollendhal  a  very  vortex.  The  wild  place  pleased 
her  fancy.  We  had  some  splendid  boar-hunting 
in  the  almost  inaccessible  passes  of  the  mountains, 
and  Ottilie  showed  herself  as  keen  at  the  chase  as 
I,  although,  woman-like,  she  shrank  from  the  finish. 
She  vowed  she  loved  the  loneliness,  the  simplicity, 
of  the  rough  wood-built  lodge,  the  savageness  of 
the  scenery.  She  loved  too  the  novel  excitement 
of  the  life,  the  long  day's  riding,  the  sleepy  supper 
by  the  roaring  wood  fire,  with  the  howl  of  the  dogs 
outside,  and  the  cry  of  the  autumn  wind  about  the 
heights.  She  begged  me  with  pretty  insistence 
that  we  should  come  back  and  spend  the  best 
part  of  the  coming  month  in  this  airy  nest. 

"We  are  more  alone,"  she  said  coaxingly,  with 
one  of  her  rare  fits  of  tenderness.  "  You  are  more 
mine,  Basil."  And  I  promised  her  that  we  should 
only  return  to  Tollendhal  to  settle  matters  with  the 
steward  and  provide  ourselves  with  what  we  wanted, 
and  then  that  we  should  have  a  new  honeymoon. 
I  would  have  promised  anything  at  such  a  moment. 
It  is  the  truth  that  in  those  days,  somehow,  we 
had,  as  she  said,  grown  closer  to  each  other. 

On  the  last  night,  wearied  out  by  the  long  hours 
on  horseback,  she  had  fallen  asleep  as  she  sat  in 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  123 

a  great  carved  wooden  chair  by  the  flaming  hearth, 
while  I  sat  upon  the  other  side,  wakeful,  watching 
her,  full  of  thought.  She  looked  all  a  child  as  she 
slept,  her  face  small  and  pale  and  tired,  the  shadow 
of  the  long  lashes  very  black  upon  her  cheeks.  And 
then  came  upon  me  like  a  sort  of  nightmare  the 
memory  of  what  I  had  meant  to  make  of  this 
young  creature  who  had  trusted  herself  to  me. 
For  the  first  time  I  faced  my  future  boldly,  and 
took  a  great  resolve  in  the  silence,  listening  to  the 
fall  of  her  light  breath,  and  the  sullen  roar  of  the 
wind  in  the  pine  forest  without. 

I  resolved  to  sacrifice  my  pride  and  keep  my 
low-born  wife. 


CHAPTER  IX 

IT  was  full  of  this  resolve,  with  an  uplifted  con- 
sciousness of  my  own  virtue,  that  I  started  next 
morning  beside  her  upon  our  homeward  way.  The 
day  was  very  bright ;  and  the  bare  trees,  with  here 
and  there  a  yellow  or  red  leaf,  showed  against  a  sky 
of  palest  blue.  There  was  a  frost  about  us,  and  our 
horses  were  fresh  and  full  of  pranks,  as  we  wound 
down  the  rocky  paths.  My  wife,  too,  was  in  a  skit- 
tish humour,  which  irritated  me  a  little  as  being  ill- 
assorted  to  my  own  high-strung  feelings  and  my 
secret  sense  of  magnanimity.  She  mocked  at  my 
solemn  face,  she  sang  ends  of  silly  songs  to  herself. 
I  would  have  spoken  to  her  of  what  was  on  my  heart ; 
I  would  have  had  her  grateful  to  me,  conscious  of 
her  own  sin  and  my  generosity.  But  I  could  get 
her  to  hearken  to  no  serious  speech.  She  called 
me  "Monsieur  de  la  Faridondaine,"  and  plucked 
a  bunch  of  ash  berries  as  we  rode,  and  stuck  them 
over  one  ear,  and  asked  me,  her  face  dimpling,  if 
it  was  not  becoming  to  her.  And  then,  when  I 
still  urged  that  I  would  talk  of  grave  matters,  she 
pulled  a  grimace,  and  fell  to  mimicking  Schultz 

124 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  125 

with  "Jawohl,  Gnadigster  Herr,"  till  I  was  fain  to 
laugh  with  her  and  put  off  my  sermon  till  the  audi- 
ence was  better  disposed. 

But  my  heart  was  something  sore  against  her. 
And  when  we  reached  home,  I  found  that  awaiting 
me  which  awoke  a  flame  of  the  fierce  resentment 
of  the  first  hour  of  discovery.  It  was  a  letter  from 
my  mother  in  answer  to  the  wild,  inflated,  trium- 
phant lucubration  I  had  sent  her  on  the  eve  of  my 
wedding-day.  I  had,  of  course,  not  attempted  to 
undeceive  her  —  in  fact,  as  I  have  already  set  down, 
it  was  only  within  the  last  twenty-four  hours  that 
I  had  settled  upon  a  definite  plan  of  action.  My 
dear  mother,  who  dearly  loved,  as  she  herself  ad- 
mitted, the  princes  of  this  earth,  was  in  a  tremen- 
dous flutter  at  my  exalted  alliance.  I  read  her 
words,  her  proud  congratulations,  with  a  feeling 
of  absolute  nausea.  My  brother,  she  wrote,  was 
torn  betwixt  a  sense  of  the  increased  family  impor- 
tance and  the  greenest  envy,  that  I,  who  had  paid 
no  price  of  honour  for  the  gaining  of  them,  should 
have  risen  to  such  heights  of  grandeur  and  wealth. 
Not  hearing  from  me  since  the  great  announcement, 
she  had  ventured  (so  she  confessed)  to  confide  my 
secret  to  a  few  dear  friends,  and  "  it  had  got  about 
strangely,"  she  added  naively.  The  whole  Catholic 
world,  the  whole  English  world  of  fashion,  was  ring- 


126  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

ing  with  the  news  of  the  great  Jennico  match.  In 
fact,  the  poor  lady  was  as  nearly  beside  herself  with 
pride  and  glory  when  she  wrote  to  me,  as  I  had 
been  when  I  gave  her  the  news.  I  did  not  —  I 
am  glad  to  say  this  —  I  did  not  for  a  second  waver 
in  my  resolution  of  fidelity  to  my  wife,  but  I  told 
myself,  with  an  intolerable  sense  of  injury,  that  I 
could  never  face  the  shame  of  returning  to  Eng- 
land again ;  that  the  full  sacrifice  entailed  upon 
me  was  not  only  the  degradation  of  an  unsuitable 
alliance,  but  that  hardest  of  trials  to  the  true- 
blooded  Englishman,  perpetual  expatriation ! 

In  this  grim  and  bitter  temper  I  marched  into 
the  room  where  I  now  sit,  and  drew  back  the 
curtain  from  my  uncle's  picture  and  took  forth 
the  pedigree  from  its  hidden  recess.  The  old 
man  wore,  as  I  knew  he  would,  a  most  severe 
countenance. 

But  I  turned  my  back  upon  him  in  a  disrespect- 
ful fashion  I  had  never  dared  display  during  his 
life,  and  spread  out  again  that  fateful  roll  of  parch- 
ment on  the  table  before  me,  while  with  penknife 
and  pumicestone  I  sought  to  efface  all  traces  of 
that  vainglorious  entry  that  mocked  me  in  its 
clear  black  and  white.  The  blood  was  surging  in 
my  head  and  singing  in  my  ears,  when  I  heard  a 
light  step,  and  looking  up  saw  Ottilie.  She  could 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  127 

not  have  come  at  a  worse  moment.  She  held 
letters  in  her  hand,  which  upon  seeing  me  she 
thrust  into  her  pocket  with  a  sly  look  and  some- 
thing of  a  blush.  She  too,  it  seemed,  had  found 
a  courier  awaiting  her ;  the  secretness  of  the  ac- 
tion stirred  the  heat  of  my  feelings  against  her 
yet  more.  But  I  strove  to  be  calm  and  judi- 
cial. 

"Ottilie,"  I  said,  "come  here.  I  have  to  con- 
verse with  you  on  matters  of  importance." 

She  drew  near  me,  pouting  and  with  a  lagging 
step,  like  a  naughty  child. 

"That  sacred  pedigree,"  she  said,  and  thrust 
out  her  under-lip.  She  spoke  in  French,  which 
gave  the  words  altogether  a  different  meaning, 
and  in  my  then  humour  I  was  hugely  shocked  to 
hear  such  an  expression  from  her  lips. 

"You  behave  strangely,"  I  said,  with  coldness, 
not  to  be  mollified  by  the  half-pleading,  half-mis- 
chievous glance  she  cast  upon  me,  "and  you  speak 
like  a  child.  There  has  been  enough  of  childish- 
ness, enough  of  folly,  in  this  business.  It  is  time 
to  be  serious,"  I  said,  and  struck  the  table  with 
my  flat  palm  as  I  spoke. 

"Well,  let  us  be  serious,"  she  retorted,  slapping 
the  table  too,  and  then  sat  down  beside  me,  prop- 
ping her  chin  upon  her  hands  in  her  favourite 


128  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

attitude.  "  Am  I  not  serious  ?  "  she  proceeded, 
looking  at  me  with  a  face  of  mock  solemnity. 
"Well,  Mr.  my  husband,  what  do  you  wish  of 
me  ? " 

"Have  you  ever  thought,  Ottilie,"  said  I,  "of 
the  position  you  have  placed  me  in  ?  I  have  been 
obliged  to-day  to  come  to  a  grave  resolution — I 
have  had  to  make  up  my  mind  to  give  up  my 
country  and  remain  here  for  the  rest  of  my  life. 
It  is  in  direct  defiance  to  my  uncle's  commands 
and  last  wishes,  and  it  is  no  pleasant  thing  to  an 
Englishman  to  give  up  his  native  land." 

"  If  so,  why  do  it  ?  "  she  said  coolly.  "  I  am 
quite  willing  to  go  to  England.  In  fact,  I  should 
rather  like  it." 

"Because,  before  heaven,  madam,"  said  I,  irri- 
tated beyond  bounds,  "  you  have  left  me  no  other 
alternative.  Do  you  think  I  am  going  home  to  be 
a  laughing-stock  among  my  people  ? " 

"Then,"  she  said  with  lightning  quickness, 
"you  broke  your  promise  of  secrecy.  It  is  your 
own  fault :  you  should  have  kept  your  word." 

Struck  by  the  irrefutable  truth  of  this  remark, 
although  at  the  same  time  my  wrath  was  secretly 
accumulating  against  her  for  this  systematic  in- 
difference to  her  own  share  in  a  transaction  where 
she  was  the  chief  person  to  blame,  I  kept  silence 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  129 

for  a  moment,  drumming  with  my  fingers  on  the 
table. 

"  Eh  bien ! "  she  said  at  last,  with  a  note  of 
amusement  and  tender  indulgence  in  her  voice  as 
a  mother  might  speak  to  her  unreasonable  infant. 
"  This  terrible  resolution  taken,  what  follows  ? 
You  have  effaced,  I  see,  your  entry  in  the  famous 
pedigree,  and  you  would  now  fill  it  up  with  the 
detail  of  your  real  alliance  ?  Is  that  it  ? " 

I  glanced  up  at  her:  her  eyes  were  dancing 
with  an  eager  light,  her  lip  trembling  as  if  over 
some  merry  word  she  yet  forbore  to  speak.  Her 
want  of  sympathy  in  sight  of  my  evident  distress 
was  hard  to  bear. 

"Yes,"  I  answered,  "the  pedigree  must  be 
filled  up.  I  don't  even  know  your  whole  name, 
nor  who  your  father  was,  nor  yet  your  mother. 
I  have  your  word  for  it,  however,"  I  said,  and  the 
sentence  was  bitter  to  me  to  speak,  "that  your 
family  was  originally  of  burgher  origin." 

"  Put  down,"  she  answered,  "  Marie  Ottilie  Pah- 
len,  daughter  of  the  deceased  Herrn  Geheimrath 
Baron  Pahlen,  Hof  Doctor  to  his  Serene  Highness 
the  Reigning  Duke  of  Lausitz." 

The  pen  dropped  from  my  hand. 

"Your  father  was  a  doctor  ?"  I  asked  in  an  ex- 
tinguished voice. 


130  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

"  Ennobled,"  she  returned  promptly,  "  after  suc- 
cessfully piloting  his  Serene  Highness  through  a 
bad  attack  of  jaundice." 

"  And  your  mother  ? "  I  murmured,  clinging  yet 
to  the  hope  that  on  the  mother's  side  at  least  the 
connection  might  prove  a  little  more  worthy  of 
the  House  of  Jennico. 

She  hesitated  and  glanced  at  me.  Once  more  I 
seemed  to  see  some  inner  source  of  mirth  bubble 
on  her  lip  ;  or  was  it  only  that  she  was  possessed 
by  the  very  spirit  of  mischief  ?  Anyhow,  she 
forced  her  smile  to  gravity  again  and  answered  me 
steadily,  while  her  eyes  sought  mine  with  a  curious 
determined  meaning  at  variance  with  the  mock 
meekness  of  the  rest  of  her  countenance. 

"  Put  down,  Monsieur  de  Jennico,  —  '  and  of 
Sophia  Miiller,  likewise  deceased,'  and  add  if  you 
like,  '  once  personal  maid  to  her  Serene  Highness 
the  Dowager  Duchess,  Marie  Ottilie  of  Lausitz.'  " 

I  sat  like  a  man  struck  silly,  and  in  the  tide  of 
fury  that  swept  over  me  my  single  lucid  thought 
was  that  if  I  spoke  or  moved  I  should  disgrace 
myself.  And  she  chose  that  moment,  poor  child, 
to  come  over  to  me  and  place  her  arms  round  my 
neck,  and  say  caressingly  in  my  ear : 

"Write  it,  wrke  it,  sir,  and  then  tell  me  that, 
seeing  that  I  am  I,  and  that  I  should  not  be  dif- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  131 

ferent  from  myself  were  I  the  daughter  of  the 
Emperor,  all  this  matters  little  to  you  since  we 
love  each  other." 

I  put  her  from  me :  my  hands  were  trembling, 
but  I  was  very  gentle.  I  brought  her  round  to 
face  me,  and  she  awaited  my  answer  with  a  tri- 
umphant smile.  It  was  that  smile  undid  me  and 
her.  She  made  too  sure  of  me  —  she  had  con- 
quered me  too  easily  all  along. 

"  You  ask  overmuch,"  I  said  when  I  could  com- 
mand my  voice  enough  to  speak,  "  you  take  over- 
much for  granted.  You  forget  how  you  have 
deceived  me ;  how  you  have  betrayed  me.  I  am 
willing,"  I  said,  "  to  believe  you  have  not  been  all 
to  blame,  that  you  were  encouraged  and  upheld  by 
another,  but  this  does  not  exonerate  you  from  the 
chief  share  in  a  very  questionable  transaction." 

The  words  fell  cuttingly.  I  saw  how  the  smile 
faded  from  her  face,  saw  how  the  pretty  dimple 
lingered  a  second  like  a  pale  ghost  of  itself,  and 
then  was  lost  in  the  droop  of  her  lip,  which  trem- 
bled like  a  chidden  babe's.  And  I  took  a  cruel 
joy  to  think  I  had  hit  her  at  last.  But  in  a  second 
or  two  she  spoke  with  all  her  old  courage. 

"  It  is  well,"  she  said,  "  to  blame  where  blame  is 
due.  If  you  wish  to  blame  any  one  for  our  mar- 
riage, blame  me  alone.  The  other  Ottilie  never 


132  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

received  your  letter ;  never  knew  you  wanted  to 
marry  her ;  had  nothing  to  say  to  what  you  call 
my  betrayal  of  you.  She  would  have  prevented 
this  marriage  if  she  could.  Nay,  I  will  tell  you 
more:  I  believe  she  might  even  have  married 
you  had  I  given  her  the  chance.  But  I  knew 
you  would  marry  her  solely  because  of  her  posi- 
tion, of  her  title ;  that  you  had  no  love  for  her 
beyond  your  insane  love  of  her  royal  blood.  I 
thought  you  worthy  of  better  things  ;  I  thought 
you  could  rise  above  so  pitiable  a  weakness ;  I 
thought  you  could  learn  of  love  that  love  alone  is 
worth  living  for  !  And  if  you  have  not  learned, 
if  indeed,  my  scholar,  you  have  been  taught  noth- 
ing in  love's  school,  if  you  can  lay  bare  your  soul 
now  and  tell  yourself  that  you  would  rather  have 
had  the  wife  you  wanted  in  your  overweening 
vanity  than  the  wife  I  am  to  you,  why  then,  sir,  I 
have  made  a  grievous  mistake,  and  I  am  willing  to 
acknowledge  that  I  have  committed  an  irrevocable 
wrong  both  to  you  and  to  myself." 

Now,  as  she  spoke,  I  was  torn  by  a  strange  mixt- 
ure of  feelings,  and  my  love  for  her  contended 
with  my  pride,  my  wounded  vanity,  my  sense  of 
injury.  I  could  not  in  truth  answer  that  I  would 
rather  have  been  wedded  to  the  Princess,  for  one 
thing  had  these  weeks  made  clear  to  me  above  all 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  133 

things,  and  that  was  that  married  life  with  her 
would  have  been  intolerable.  But  my  anger 
against  the  woman  I  did  love  in  spite  of  myself 
was  not  lessened  by  the  tone  of  reproachful  supe- 
riority she  assumed ;  and  because  of  the  truth  of 
her  rebuke  it  was  the  harder  for  my  self-love  to 
bear.  Before  I  could  muster  words  clear  enough 
and  severe  enough  to  answer  her  with,  she 
proceeded  : 

"Come,  Basil,  come,  rise  above  this  failing 
which  is  so  unworthy  of  you.  Throw  that  musty 
old  pedigree  away  before  it  eats  all  the  manliness 
out  of  your  life.  What  does  it  mean  but  that  you 
can  trace  your  family  up  to  a  greater  number  of 
probable  rascals,  hard  and  selfish  old  men,  than 
another  ?  Be  proud  of  yourself  for  what  you  are ; 
be  proud  of  your  forefathers,  indeed,  if  they  have 
done  fine  deeds  of  valour,  or  virtue ;  but  this  cant 
about  birth  for  birth's  sake,  about  the  superiority 
of  aristocracy  as  aristocracy — what  does  it  amount 
to  ?  It  is  to  me  the  most  foolish  of  superstitions. 
Was  that  old  man,"  she  asked,  pointing  to  my 
uncle,  who  frowned  upon  her  murderously  —  "was 
that  old  man  a  better  man  than  his  heiduck 
Janos  ?  Was  he  a  braver  soldier  ?  Was  he  a 
better  servant  to  his  master  ?  Was  he  more 
honest  in  his  dealings  ?  shrewder  in  his  counsel  ? 


134  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

I  tell  you  I  honour  Janos  as  much  as  I  would  have 
honoured  him.  I  tell  you  that  if  I  love  you,  I 
love  you  for  what  you  are,  not  because  you  are 
descended  from  some  ignorant  savage  king,  not 
because  you  can  boast  that  the  blood  of  the  worst 
of  men  and  sovereigns,  the  most  profligate,  the 
most  treacherous,  the  most  faithless,  Charles 
Stuart,  runs  in  your  veins  —  I  hope,  sir,  as  little 
of  it  as  possible." 

I  sprang  to  my  feet.  To  be  thus  rated  by  her 
who  should  be  kneeling  for  forgiveness !  It  was 
intolerable. 

"I  think,"  I  thundered,  "that,  considering 
your  position,  a  little  humility  would  be  more 
becoming  than  this  attitude  !  You  should  remem- 
ber that  you  are  here  on  tolerance  only ;  that  it 
is  to  my  generosity  alone  that  you  owe  the  right 
to  call  yourself  an  honest  woman." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  said  she,  as  fiercely  as 
I  had  spoken  myself. 

" I  mean,"  said  I  —  "I  mean,  madam,  that  you 
are  what  I  choose  to  make  you.  That  marriage 
you  so  skilfully  encompassed  is,  if  I  choose  it,  no 
marriage." 

She  put  her  hands  to  her  head  like  one  who  has 
turned  suddenly  giddy. 

"You  married  me  before  God's  altar,"  she  said 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  135 

in  a  sort  of  whisper;  "you  married  me,  and  you 
took  me  home." 

I  was  still  too  angry  to  stay  my  tongue. 

With  a  bitter  laugh,  "  I  married  the  Princess," 
I  said,  "  but  I  took  the  servant  home." 

A  burning  tide  of  blood  rushed  to  her  brow ;  I 
saw  it  unseeing,  as  a  man  does  in  passion ;  but 
I  have  lived  that  scene  over  and  over  again, 
waking  and  dreaming,  since,  and  every  detail  of 
it  is  stamped  upon  my  brain.  Next  she  grew 
livid  white,  and  spread  out  her  hands,  as  though 
a  precipice  had  suddenly  opened  before  her ;  and 
then  she  cried : 

"And  this  is  your  English  honour!"  and  turn- 
ing on  her  heel  she  left  me. 

The  scorn  of  her  tone  cut  me  like  a  whip.  I 
swore  a  mighty  oath  that  I  would  never  forgive  her 
till  she  sued  for  pardon.  She  must  be  taught  who 
was  master.  In  solitude  she  should  reflect,  and 
learn  to  rue  her  sins  to  me  —  her  audacity  —  her 
unwarrantable  presumption  —  her  ingratitude ! 

All  in  my  white  heat  of  anger  I  summoned 
Janos  and  bade  him  tell  his  mistress's  nurse  that 
I  had  gone  into  the  mountains  for  a  week.  And 
then  I  ordered  a  fresh  horse,  and  followed  only 
by  the  old  man,  dashed  off  like  one  possessed  into 
the  rocky  wastes. 


136  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

Alone  in  the  solitary  hut,  by  that  hearth  where 
but  the  night  previous  my  heart  had  overflowed 
with  such  tenderness  for  her,  I  sat  and  nursed  my 
grievances  and  brooded  upon  my  wrongs  till  they 
grew  to  overpowering  size  and  multiplied  a  thou- 
sandfold; and  curious  it  is  that  what  I  thought 
of  most  was  the  bitter  unfairness  to  me,  the 
monstrous  injustice  of  her  contempt,  at  the  very 
moment  when  I  had  meant  to  sacrifice  my  life 
and  prospects  to  her.  I  told  myself  she  did 
not  love  me,  had  never  loved  me,  and  worked 
myself  to  a  pitch  of  frenzy  over  that  thought. 
The  memory  of  her  announcement  on  this  after- 
noon, the  full  knowledge  of  her  deceit,  the  confes- 
sion of  her  worse  than  burgher  origin,  weighed 
not  now  one  feather-weight  in  my  resentment. 
That  I  had  cast  from  me  as  the  least  of  my 
troubles ;  so  can  a  man  change  and  so  can  love 
swallow  up  all  other  passions !  No  doubt,  I  told 
myself,  she  was  mocking  me  now  in  her  own 
mind ;  no  doubt  she  reckoned  that  her  poor  in- 
fatuated fool  would  come  creeping  back  with  all 
promptitude  and  beg  for  her  smile.  She  should 
learn  at  last  that  she  had  married  a  man ;  not  till 
I  saw  her  down  at  my  very  feet  would  I  take  her 
back  to  my  breast. 

All  next  day  I  hunted  in  a  bitter  wind  and  in 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  137 

a  bitter  temper.  There  were  clouds  arising,  my 
huntsmen  told  me,  that  looked  very  like  snow 
clouds,  and  I  must  beware  being  snowed  up  upon 
the  height.  I  was  in  the  humour  to  welcome 
hardship  and  even  danger,  and  so  the  whole  day 
we  rode  after  an  old  rogue  boar  and  came  back 
in  darkness,  at  no  small  risk,  empty  handed,  and 
the  roughness  of  my  temper  by  no  means  im- 
proved. Next  day  the  weather  still  held  up,  and 
again  I  hunted.  My  men  must  have  wondered 
what  had  come  over  their  erstwhile  genial  master. 
Even  my  uncle  could  not  have  shown  them  a 
harder  rule  or  ridden  them  with  less  consideration 
through  the  hardest  of  ways  in  the  teeth  of  the 
most  fiendish  of  winds. 

That  night,  again,  I  sat  and  brooded  by  the 
leaping  flame  of  the  pine  logs,  but  it  was  in  a 
different  mood.  All  my  surly  determination,  my 
righteous  indignation,  had  melted  from  me,  leav- 
ing me  as  weak  as  water.  Of  a  sudden  in  the 
closest  heat  of  the  chase  there  had  come  to  me 
an  awful  vision  of  what  I  had  done;  a  terrible 
swift  realisation  of  the  insult  I  had  flung  at  the 
face  of  the  woman  who  was  indeed  the  wife  of 
my  heart  and  love.  Oh,  God,  what  had  I  done? 
I  had  sought  to  humble  her  —  I  had  but  debased 
myself !  Through  the  whole  day  her  words,  "  Is 


138  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

this  your  English  honour?"  had  rung  a  dismal 
rhythm  in  my  ear  to  the  beat  of  my  horse's  hoofs 
on  the  hard  ground,  to  the  call  of  the  horn  amid 
the  winding  rocks.  The  vision  of  her  faded  smile, 
of  her  dimple  paled  to  a  pitiable  ghost,  of  her 
babyish  drooping  lip,  and  then  of  her  white  face 
struck  with  such  scorn,  haunted  me  to  madness. 
I  sickened  from  my  food  as  I  sat  to  my  supper, 
and  put  down  my  cup  untasted.  And  now  as  the 
wind  whistled  and  the  foreboded  storm  was  gather- 
ing upon  us,  the  longing  to  see  her,  to  be  with 
her,  to  kneel  at  her  feet  —  yes,  /  would  now  be 
the  one  to  kneel  —  came  upon  me  with  such 
violence  that  I  could  not  withstand  it. 

I  ordered  my  horses.  I  would  listen  to  no 
remonstrance,  no  warning.  I  must  return  to 
Tollendhal,  I  said,  were  all  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness leagued  against  me.  And  return  I  did.  It 
was  a  piece  of  foolhardiness  in  which  I  ran,  un- 
heeding, the  risk  of  my  life ;  but  the  Providence 
that  protects  madmen  protected  me  that  night, 
and  Janos  and  I  arrived  in  safety  through  a  gale 
of  wind  and  a  fall  of  snow  that  might  indeed  have 
proved  our  death.  All  covered  with  rime  I  ran 
into  the  house  and  up  to  the  door  of  her  room. 
It  was  past  midnight,  and  there  I  paused  for  a 
moment  fearing  to  disturb  her. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  139 

Two  or  three  of  the  women  came  pattering 
down  the  passage  to  me  and  with  expressive 
gestures  addressed  me  volubly ;  one  of  the  girls 
was  weeping.  I  could  not  understand  a  word 
they  said,  but  with  a  new  terror  I  burst  open 
the  door  of  the  bedroom.  In  this  appalling 
dread  I  realised  for  the  first  time  how  I  loved 
my  wife ! 

The  room  was  all  empty  and  all  dark ;  I  called 
for  lights.  There  was  no  trace  of  her  presence; 
her  bed  had  not  been  slept  in.  Like  a  maniac 
I  tore  about  the  house,  seeking  her,  shrieking 
her  name,  demanding  explanations  from  those  to 
whom  my  speech  meant  nothing.  I  recked  little 
of  my  dignity,  little  of  the  impression  I  must 
create  upon  my  household !  And  at  last  Janos, 
his  wrinkled  face  withered  up  and  contorted  with 
the  trouble  he  dared  not  speak,  gave  me  the 
tidings  that  the  gracious  lady  had  gone.  She 
and  her  nurse  had  set  forth  on  foot  and  left  no 
message  with  any  one. 

What  need  is  there  for  me  to  write  down  what 
I  endured  that  black  night?  When  I  look  back 
upon  it  it  is  as  one  may  look  back  upon  some 
terrible  nightmare,  some  hideous  memory  of  de- 
lirium. She  had  left  me,  and  left  me  thus,  without 
a  word,  and  with  but  one  sign.  The  cursed  pedi- 


140  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

gree  was  still  spread  upon  the  table  where  we 
had  quarrelled.  I  found  upon  it  her  wedding 
ring.  A  great  cross  had  been  drawn  over  the 
half-written  entry  of  our  marriage.  That  was  all, 
but  it  was  surely  enough.  The  jewels  I  had  given 
her  were  carefully  packed  in  their  cases  and  laid 
upon  a  table  in  her  room.  Her  own  things  had 
been  gathered  together  the  day  of  her  departure, 
which  was  the  day  I  left  her,  and  they  had  been 
fetched  the  next  morning  by  some  strange  ser- 
vant in  an  unknown  travelling  coach.  More 
than  this  I  have  not  been  able  to  glean,  for 
the  storm  has  rendered  the  ways  impassable ;  but 
it  is  rumoured  that  the  Countess  de  Schreckendorf 
is  dead,  and  that  the  Princess  also  has  left  the 
country. 

I  have  no  more  to  say.  It  is  only  two  nights 
ago  since  I  came  home  to  such  misery,  and  how  I 
have  passed  the  hours,  what  needs  it  to  set  forth  ? 
At  times  I  tell  myself  that  it  is  better  so,  that  she 
is  false  and  base,  and  that  I  were  the  poorest  of 
wretches  to  forgive  her.  But  at  times  again  I  see 
the  whole  naked  truth  before  me,  and  I  know  that 
she  was  to  me  what  no  woman  can  be  again. 
And  my  uncle  looks  down  at  me  as  I  write,  with 
a  sour  frowning  face,  and  seems  —  strange  it  is, 
yet  true  —  to  revile  me  now  with  bitter  scorn,  not 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  141 

for  having  kept  her,  the  roturiere,  but  for  having 
driven  her  from  my  castle ! 

"Thou  hadst  her;  thou  couldst  not  hold  her," 
he  seems  to  snarl. 

Old  man,  old  man,  it  is  your  teaching  that  has 
undone  me ;  do  you  reproach  me  now  that  it  has 
wrought  my  ruin  ? 

Basil  Jennico  flung  his  pen  from  him ;  the  logs 
in  the  hearth  had  burnt  themselves  to  white  ash  ; 
his  candles  were  guttering  in  their  sockets,  and 
behind  the  close-drawn  curtains  the  faint  dawn 
was  spreading  over  a  world  of  snow.  The  wind 
still  howled,  the  storm  was  still  unabated. 

"Another  day,"  groaned  he,  "another  hateful 
day ! "  He  flung  his  arms  before  him  and  his 
head  down  upon  them.  So  sleep  came  upon  him  ; 
and  so  old  Janos,  creeping  in  a  little  later,  red-eyed 
from  his  watchful  night,  found  him.  The  sleeper 
woke  as  the  man,  with  hands  rough  and  gnarled, 
yet  tender  as  a  woman's,  strove  to  lift  him  to  an 
easier  attitude ;  woke  and  looked  at  him  with  a 
fixed  semi-conscious  stare. 

"Ottilie!"  he  cried  wildly,  and  suddenly  brought 
back  to  grey  reality  stopped  and  clasped  his  head. 
There  was  in  the  old  servant's  hard  and  all  but 
immutable  face  so  wistful  a  yearning  of  kindred 


142  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

sorrow  that,  suddenly  catching  sight  of  it  in  the 
midst  of  his  despair,  the  young  man  broke  down 
and  fell  forward  like  a  child  upon  that  faithful 
breast. 

"Courage,  honoured  master,"  said  Janos,  "we 
will  find  her  again." 


PART    II 


CHAPTER  I 

MEMOIR  OF  CAPTAIN  BASIL  JENNICO  (A  PORTION,  WRITTEN 
EARLY  IN  THE  YEAR  1772,  IN  HIS  ROOMS  AT  GRIFFIN'S, 
CURZON  STREET) 

HOME  in  England  once  again,  if  home  it  can 
be  called,  this  set  of  hired  chambers,  so  dreary 
within,  with  outside  the  lowering  fog  and  the 
unfamiliar  sounds  that  were  once  so  familiar. 
It  is  all  strange,  after  eight  years'  exile ;  and  the 
grime,  the  noise,  the  narrow  limits,  the  bustle  of 
this  great  city,  weary  me  after  the  noble  silence, 
the  wide  life,  at  Tollendhal. 

It  was  with  no  lightening  of  my  thoughts  that 
I  saw  the  white  cliffs  of  old  England  break  the 
sullen  grey  of  the  horizon,  with  no  patriotic  joy 
that  I  set  foot  on  my  native  soil  again,  but  rather 
with  a  heavy,  heavy  heart.  What  can  this  land 
be  to  me  now  but  a  land  of  exile  ?  All  that 
makes  home  to  a  man  I  have  left  behind  me. 


144  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

I  hardly  know  why  I  have  resumed  the  thread 
of  this  miserable  story.  God  knows  that  I  have 
no  good  thing  to  narrate,  and  that  this  setting 
forth,  this  storing,  as  it  were,  of  my  bitter  har- 
vest of  disappointments,  can  bring  no  solace  with 
it.  And  yet  man  must  hope  as  long  as  life 
lasts ;  and  the  hope  keeps  springing  up  again,  in 
defiance  of  all  reason,  that,  somehow,  some  day, 
we  shall  meet  again.  Therefore  I  write,  in  order 
that,  should  such  a  day  come,  she  may  read 
for  herself  and  learn  how  the  thought  of  her 
filled  each  moment  of  my  life  since  our  part- 
ing; that  she  may  read  how  I  have  sought  her, 
how  I  have  mourned  for  her ;  that  she  may  know 
that  my  love  has  never  failed  her. 

This  it  is  that  heartens  me  to  my  task.  More- 
over, all  else  is  so  savourless  that  I  know  not 
how  otherwise  to  fill  the  time.  I  have  been 
here  five  weeks ;  there  are  many  houses  where 
I  am  welcome,  many  friends  who  would  gladly 
lend  me  their  company,  many  places  where  young 
men  can  find  distraction  of  divers  kinds  and  de- 
grees ;  but  I  have  not  succeeded  in  bringing 
myself  to  take  up  the  new  life  with  any  zest : 
I  had  rather  dwell  upon  the  past  in  spite  of  all 
its  bitterness,  than  face  the  desolation  of  the 
present. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  145 

It  was  on  the  third  day  of  the  great  storm 
that  the  pen  fell  from  my  hand  at  Tollendhal,  and 
for  four  and  twenty  hours  more  that  self-same 
storm  raged  in  violence.  One  word  of  my  old 
servant's  had  brought  me  on  a  sudden  to  a 
definite  purpose.  I  was  full  of  eager  hope  of 
tracing  her,  of  finding  her,  once  it  were  possible 
to  start  upon  the  quest.  For  the  gale  which 
kept  me  prisoner  must  have  retarded  her  like- 
wise; and  even  with  two  days'  start,  I  told  my- 
self, she  could  not  have  gone  far  upon  her  road. 

But  I  reckoned  without  the  difficulties  which 
the  first  great  snowfall  of  the  year,  before  the 
hard  frost  comes  to  make  it  passable  for  sledg- 
ing, was  creating  for  us  in  these  heights  where 
the  drifts  fill  to  such  depth.  Day  and  night  my 
fellows  worked  to  cut  a  way  for  me  down  to  the 
imperial  road  ;  and  I  worked  with  them,  watched, 
encouraged  them,  and  all,  it  seemed,  to  so  little 
purpose  that  I  thought  I  should  have  gone  mad 
outright.  The  cruel  heavens  now  smiled,  now 
frowned,  upon  our  work,  so  that,  between  frost 
and  thaw  and  thaw  and  frost,  the  task  was 
doubled,  and  my  prison  bars  seemed  to  grow 
stronger  instead  of  less. 

In  this  way  it  came  to  pass  that  it  was  full 
ten  days  from  the  time  that  she  had  left  Tol- 


146  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

lendhal  that  I  was  at  length  able  to  start  forth 
in  pursuit. 

My  first  stage  was  of  course  to  the  castle  of 
the  old  Countess  Schreckendorf,  where  I  found 
the  place  well-nigh  deserted,  its  mistress  having 
been,  even  as  I  had  been  informed,  a  fortnight 
dead  and  buried.  But  there  was  a  servant  in 
charge  of  the  empty,  desolate  house,  and  from 
her  I  gleaned  tidings  both  precise  and  sufficient. 

The  Princess  had  remained  quietly  at  Schreck- 
endorf during  the  weeks  which  had  followed 
upon  my  marriage,  but  on  the  day  previous  to 
our  return  to  Tollendhal  from  the  shooting-lodge, 
a  couple  of  couriers  had  arrived  at  the  Countess's 
gates  close  one  upon  the  other,  bringing,  it  would 
seem,  important  letters  for  the  Princess,  who  had 
been  greatly  agitated  upon  receipt  of  them. 
She  had  hastily  despatched  a  mounted  messen- 
ger to  my  wife,  whether  with  a  private  communi- 
cation from  herself  or  merely  to  forward  missives 
addressed  to  her  from  her  own  home  I  know 
not ;  but  at  any  rate  the  papers  which  Ottilie 
had  hidden  from  me  that  fatal  day  were  brought 
her  by  this  man.  After  she  left  Tollendhal  a 
few  hours  later,  my  wife  had  arrived  at  Schreck- 
endorf in  a  peasant's  cart.  That  same  evening 
two  travelling  coaches,  bringing  ladies,  officers, 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  147 

and  servants,  had  made  their  appearance  at  the 
castle;  it  was  one  of  these  coaches  which  went 
to  the  stronghouse  next  morning  and  bore  away 
Ottilie's  belongings.  In  the  afternoon  the  whole 
party,  including  my  wife,  had  set  forth  in  great 
haste  for  the  north,  despite  universal  warning  of 
the  gathering  storm.  There  could  be  no  doubt 
but  that  their  destination  was  Lausitz,  most  prob- 
ably the  Residence  itself,  Budissin. 

When  I  had  ascertained  all  this  I  promptly 
decided  upon  my  course.  Taking  with  me  Janos 
only,  I  instantly  started  for  the  next  post-town, 
where  we  were  able  to  secure  fresh  horses,  and 
whence  we  pushed  on  the  same  night  some  twenty 
miles  farther. 

Not  until  the  sixth  evening,  however,  despite  our 
extraordinarily  hard  travelling,  did  we,  mounted 
upon  a  pair  of  sorry  and  worn-out  nags,  find  our- 
selves crossing  the  bridge  under  the  towered  gates 
of  Budissin.  That  was  then  the  sixteenth  day 
from  the  date  of  my  wife's  flight. 

It  seemed  a  singularly  deserted  town  as  we 
stumbled  over  the  cobbles  of  the  streets,  with 
the  early  dusk  of  the  November  day  closing  in 
upon  us  —  so  few  people  passed  us  as  we  went, 
so  few  windows  cast  a  light  into  the  gloom,  so 
many  houses  and  shops  presented  but  blank  closed 


148  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

shutter-fronts.  Jdnos  knew  his  way,  having  rid- 
den  with  my  uncle  in  all  this  district  during  the 
late  war.  There  was  a  very  good  inn,  he  told  me, 
on  the  Burg  Platz,  in  the  shadow  of  the  palace ; 
and  as  nothing  could  suit  my  purpose  better,  to 
the  "  Silver  Lion  of  Lusatia  "  we  therefore  turned 
our  horses'  heads. 

It  was  cheering,  after  our  long  wayfaring,  and 
the  dismal  nightmare-like  impression  of  our  pas- 
sage through  the  empty  town,  to  see  the  case- 
ments of  that  same  "Silver  Lion"  shine  afar  off 
ruddily;  and  my  heart  leaped  within  me  to  dis- 
cern, dimly  sketched  behind  it,  the  towering  out- 
line of  the  palace,  wherein,  no  doubt,  my  lost 
bird  had  found  refuge. 

The  voice  of  the  r~d-faced  host  who,  at  sound 
of  clattering  hoofs  before  his  door,  came  bustling 
to  greet  us  as  fast  as  his  goodly  bulk  would  allow, 
struck  on  my  ear  with  cheering  omen. 

"  God  greet  ye,  my  lords ! "  he  cried,  as  he 
lent  a  shoulder  for  my  descent ;  "you  are  welcome 
this  bitter  night  to  fireside  and  supper.  Enter, 
my  lords;  I  have  good  wine,  good  beds,  good 
supper,  for  your  lordships,  and  the  best  beer  that 
is  brewed  between  Munich  and  Berlin.  Joseph, 
thou  rag,  see  to  his  lordship's  horses ;  wife,  come 
greet  our  worshipful  visitors  !  " 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  149 

I  write  down  the  jargon  much  as  I  heard  it, 
for,  as  I  write,  I  am  back  again  at  that  moment 
and  feel  once  more  the  glow  of  hope  which  crept 
into  my  heart,  even  as  the  genial  warmth  of  the 
room  unbent  my  frozen  limbs.  I  had  reached  my 
journey's  end,  and  the  old  rhyme  in  the  play, 
"journeys  end  in  lovers  meeting,"  rang  a  merry 
burden  in  my  thoughts. 

I  marvel  now  that  my  hopes  should  have  been 
so  forward ;  that  i  should  have  reckoned  so  much 
more  upon  her  woman's  love  than  upon  her 
woman's  pride.  Iideed,  I  had  not  deemed  my 
sin  so  great  but  tl  at  my  penitence  would  amply 
atone.  So  I  was  all  eagerness  to  satisfy  my  hun- 
gering heart  by  tidings  of  her,  and  could  hardly 
sit  still  to  my  supper  —  though  we  had  ridden 
hard  and  I  was  famished  —  till  I  had  induced 
mine  host  to  sit  beside  me  and  crack  a  bottle 
of  his  most  recommended  Rhenish,  which  should 
unloose  a  tongue  that  scarcely  needed  such  in- 
ducement. For  her  sake,  that  no  scandal  might 
be  bruited  about  her  fair  name,  I  had  determined 
to  proceed  cautiously. 

"You  have  a  fine  town  here,  friend,"  said  I, 
"so  far  as  I  can  judge  this  dark  night." 

"Truly,  your  lordship  may  say  so,"  said  he, 
and  smacked  his  lips  that  I  might  understand 


150  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

how  great  a  relish  this  fruit  of  his  cellar  left  on 
a  man's  palate. 

"But  it  has  a  deserted  look,"  said  I  idly,  just 
to  encourage  him  in  talk ;  "  so  many  houses  shut 
up  —  so  few  people  about." 

He  rolled  the  wine  round  his  mouth  in  a  re- 
flective manner,  then  swallowed  it  with  a  gulp, 
and  threw  an  uneasy  look  at  me.  At  the  same 
instant  there  flashed  upon  my  mind  what,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  I  had  clean  forgotten  in  the  tur- 
moil of  my  thoughts  and  the  hurry  of  my  pur- 
suit :  the  reason  for  the  very  state  of  affairs  I 
was  commenting  on  —  the  plague  of  smallpox,  the 
malady  that  had  driven  the  Princess  to  my  land ! 
Ay,  in  very  truth  the  town  had  a  plague-stricken 
look,  and  I  felt  myself  turn  pale  to  think  my  wife 
had  come  back  to  this  nest  of  infection. 

"The  sickness,"  said  I  then  quickly,  —  "has  it 
abated  here  ?  Nay,  I  know  all  about  it,  man,  and 
have  no  fear  of  it.  But  how  fares  it  in  the  town 
and  in  the  palace?" 

"  Oh,  the  sickness ! "  quoth  mine  host  with  a 
great  awkward  laugh.  "His  lordship  means  these 
few  little  cases  of  smallpox.  Na,  it  had  been 
nothing,  and  is  all  over  now;  only  folk  were 
such  cowards  and  frightened  themselves  sick, 
and  families  fled  because  of  this  same  foolish 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  151 

fear.  Now  myself,  as  his  lordship  sees,  myself 
and  my  family  and  my  servants,  we  have  not 
known  a  day's  ill-health,  because  we  kept  our 
hearts  up  and  drank  good  stuff.  'It  is,'  as  I  said 
to  his  Highness  himself,  who  never  left  the  place, 
but  went  out  in  our  midst,  the  noble  prince,  and 
spat  at  fear  (besides  that  he  had  already  had  it, 
like  myself),  —  'it  is  the  wine,'  said  I,  'or  the  beer, 
if  you  know  where  to  get  it,  that  keeps  a  man 
sound.'  And  his  Highness  says  to  me " 

But  here  I  interrupted  the  speaker  in  a  voice 
the  trembling  of  which  I  could  not  control. 

"  Is  the  Duke  at  the  palace  now,  then,  with  all 
his  household  ? " 

"  He  has  been  so,  my  lord,"  said  the  man 
eagerly,  "  up  to  the  last  week  ;  so  long,  indeed,  as 
there  was  a  suspicion  of  illness  among  us.  But 
now  he  is  at  the  summer  castle,  Ottilienruhe,  near 
Rothenburg.  'Tis  but  three  leagues  from  the 
town.  The  Princess,  sir,  is  always  fond  of  Otti- 
lienruhe, even  in  this  cold  weather.  And  as  she 
has  but  just  returned  from  visiting  at  another 
Court,  his  Highness,  her  father,  has  gone  to  join 
her  thither.  Our  Princess,  sir,  is  a  most  beautiful 
young  lady ;  nay,  if  you  will  allow  me,  I  will  show 
you  a  portrait  of  her,  which  we  have  framed  in  my 
wife's  room.  A  beautiful  young  lady,  sir !  There 


152  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

will  be  rare  festivities  when  she  weds  her  cousin, 
the  Margrave  of  Liegnitz-Rothenburg.  We  have 
his  portrait,  too  —  a  very  noble  gentleman !  I 
would  show  you  these  pictures ;  I  think  you  would 
admire  them." 

But  I  arrested  him  with  a  gesture,  as,  in  the 
hopes  of  distracting  my  attention  from  an  awk- 
ward topic,  he  was  about  to  roll  his  bulk  in  quest 
of  these  treasures. 

I  had  no  wish,  indeed,  to  feast  my  eyes  upon 
that  face,  the  lineaments  of  which,  with  all  their 
beauty,  I  could  not  bear  to  recall.  What  was  it 
to  me  whom  that  Ottilie  married  ?  If  they  had 
had  a  portrait  of  my  Ottilie,  indeed !  .  .  .  But, 
sweet  soul,  she  had  told  me  herself  of  her  obscu- 
rity and  unimportance. 

"  And  so,"  said  I,  "  they  are  at  the  summer 
palace,  your  reigning  family  ? " 

And  though  I  had  hugged  the  thought  of  her 
dear  living  presence  so  close  to  me  this  night, 
behind  yonder  palace  walls,  I  nevertheless  rejoiced 
to  learn  that  she  was  safer  harboured. 

"  The  Princess  has  her  retinue  with  her,  I  sup- 
pose?" 

"  Oh,  ay,"  said  the  innkeeper,  rising  as  he  spoke 
and  clacking  his  tongue  again  over  the  last  drop 
of  his  wine.  "  Though  our  Princess  is  so  simple  a 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  153 

lass,  if  I  may  say  so  without  disrespect,  and  loves 
not  Court  fashions.  But  she  has  one  favourite 
companion,  and  they  are  as  sisters  together,  so 
that  when  one  sees  her  Highness,  one  may  be 
sure  the  Fraulein  is  not  far  distant.  Oh,  ay,  sir, 
they  have  returned  from  their  travels  together, 
though  I  have  heard  it  rumoured  that  one  or  two 
of  her  Highness's  attendants  have  been  left  be- 
hind, dead  or  ailing.  Na,  it  is  better  to  stay  at 
home  :  strange  places  are  unwholesome  !  " 

He  opened  the  stove  door  and  shoved  in  two 
or  three  great  logs,  and  I  turned  and  stretched  my 
limbs  to  the  warmth  with  lazy  content,  and,  for 
the  first  time  for  many  a  long  day  and  night,  a 
restful  heart. 

To-morrow  I  should  see  her.  When  I  slept  that 
night  I  dreamed  golden  dreams. 

The  next  day  dawned  upon  a  world  all  involved 
in  creeping  grizzling  mist,  that  seemed  to  ooze 
even  into  the  comfortable  rooms  of  the  "  Silver 
Lion " ;  that  wrapped  from  my  view  the  lofty 
towers  of  the  palace  beyond  my  window,  and 
damped  even  my  buoyant  confidence.  My  good 
Janos  had  the  toothache,  and  though  it  was  not 
in  him  to  complain,  the  sight  of  his  swollen,  suf- 
fering face  did  not  further  encourage  me  to  cheer. 


154  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

A  little  before  noon  we  mounted  to  ride  forth  to 
Ottilienruhe  in  the  dismal  weather.  Our  gar- 
ments, despite  the  heiduck's  endless  brushing, 
bore  many  traces  of  our  hard  journey.  We  cut 
but  a  poor  figure,  I  thought,  in  these  stained, 
rusty  clothes ;  and  the  young  lord  of  Tollendhal 
was  ill-mounted  upon  the  wretched  jade,  which 
had,  nevertheless,  faithfully  served  him  upon  his 
last  cruel  stage.  The  poor  nag  was  yet  full  weary, 
and  stumbled  and  drooped  her  head,  while  Janos's 
white-faced  bay  might  have  stood  for  the  very 
image  of  starving  antiquity. 

I  winced  as  I  thought  of  Ottilie's  mocking 
glance ;  but  the  haste  to  see  her  overcame  even 
my  delicate  vanity. 

Following  my  host's  directions,  who  marvelled 
greatly  at  our  eccentricity  that  we  should  leave  a 
warm  stove  door  and  good  cheer  from  mere  trav- 
ellers' curiosity  on  such  a  day,  we  pattered  forth 
through  the  town  again  —  through  streets  yet 
more  ghost-like  in  their  daylight  emptiness  than 
they  had  seemed  yestereven ;  pattered  once  more 
across  the  wood  of  the  bridge  beneath  which  the 
sullen  waters  ran,  without  appearing  to  run,  as 
grey  and  leaden  as  the  heavens  above. 

And  after  two  hours'  dreary  tramp  along  a 
poplar-bordered,  deserted  road,  we  saw  before  us 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  155 

the  gilded  iron  gateway  of  Ottilienruhe.  Beyond 
there  was  a  vision  of  French  gardens  ;  of  bowling- 
greens  all  drenched ;  of  flat  terraces  whereon  the 
yews,  fantastically  cut,  stood  about  like  the  pieces 
of  a  chessboard.  Beyond  that  again  rose  the  odd 
Grecian  porticos  and  colonnades,  the  Chinese  cu- 
polas, appertaining  to  the  summer  pleasaunce  of 
the  reigning  house. 

It  might  have  looked  fair  enough  under  bright 
skies  in  summer  weather,  with  roses  on  the  empty 
beds  and  sunshine  on  the  little  yellow  spires ;  but 
it  seemed  a  most  desolate  place  as  it  lay  beneath 
my  eyes  that  noon.  I  told  myself  I  should  find 
sunshine  enough  within,  yet  my  heart  lay  heavy  in 
my  breast. 

A  sentry,  with  his  pointed  fur  cap  drawn  down 
over  his  eyes,  with  the  collar  of  his  great-coat 
drawn  up  above  his  ears,  so  that  of  his  counte- 
nance only  the  end  of  a  red  nose  was  visible  to 
the  world,  marched  up  and  down  before  the  gates, 
and,  as  we  made  ready  to  halt,  challenged  us 
roughly. 

At  the  sound  of  his  call  two  more  sentries  ap- 
peared at  different  points,  and  tramped  towards  us 
with  suspicion  in  their  bearing. 

Evidently  the  Duke  was  well  guarded.  I  rode 
a  few  steps  forward,  when,  to  my  astonishment, 


156  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

it  being  full  peace-time,  the  fellow  brought  his 
musket  to  the  ready,  and  again  cautioned  me  to 
pass  on  my  way. 

"  But  my  way  is  to  the  palace,"  I  bawled  to  him 
defiantly,  despite  the  consciousness  that  the  doubt- 
ful impression  I  must  myself  create  could  not  be 
mitigated  by  the  sight  of  Janos  behind  me.  For 
I  am  bound  to  say  that  in  the  plain  garb  I  had 
insisted  on  his  donning,  now  much  disordered,  as 
I  have  said,  by  our  travels,  with  the  natural  grim- 
ness  of  his  countenance  enhanced  by  a  screw  of 
pain,  a  more  truculent-looking  ruffian  it  would 
have  been  hard  to  find. 

But  so  far  I  did  not  anticipate  any  more  serious 
difficulty  than  what  a  few  arguments  could  re- 
move :  and  I  carried  a  heavy  purse.  So  I  added 
boldly : 

"  I  have  business  at  the  palace." 

The  man  lowered  his  weapon  and  came  a  step 
nearer. 

"  Whence  come  you  ? "  he  asked  more  civilly. 

"  From  Budissin,"  said  I. 

The  musket  instantly  went  up  again,  and  its 
bearer  retreated  hastily  a  couple  of  paces. 

"  'Tis  against  orders,"  he  said,  "  because  of  the 
sickness ;  no  one  from  Budissin  may  pass  the 
gates." 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  157 

The  sickness  again !  I  had,  then,  by  my  im- 
petuosity, my  haste  to  follow  in  her  traces,  but 
raised  a  new  barrier  between  us. 

I  dismounted,  threw  my  reins  to  Janos,  and  ad- 
vanced upon  the  soldier. 

"  But,  friend,"  said  I 

The  fellow  covered  me  with  his  weapon. 

"  Stand  !  "  he  cried  roughly  ;  "  stand,  or  I  fire  ! " 

I  stood  back  stock-still.  Here  was  a  quandary 
indeed ! 

"  But,  my  God ! "  I  cried  to  him,  "  I  am  a  trav- 
eller. I  have  but  passed  through  the  town.  I 
have  come  these  eighty  leagues  upon  urgent  busi- 
ness, and  I  must  see  some  one  who  I  am  told  is 
in  the  palace." 

So  saying  I  drew  forth  a  louis  d'or,  a  stock  of 
which  I  kept  loose  for  such  emergencies  in  my 
side  pocket,  and  tossed  it  to  the  rascal. 

"  Now  get  me  speech  with  a  person  in  au- 
thority," said  I. 

With  one  hand,  and  without  lowering  his  fire- 
lock, he  nimbly  caught  the  coin  on  the  fling  and 
placed  it  in  his  mouth,  after  which  he  shook  his 
head  and  remarked  indistinctly : 

"Tis  no  use." 

And  then  at  last  my  sorely-tried  patience  broke 
down,  impotent  otherwise  in  front  of  his  menacing 


158  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

barrel.  I  cursed  him  long  and  loud  with  that 
choiceness  and  variety  of  epithet  of  which  my 
own  squadron-life  experience  as  well  as  my  ap- 
prenticeship to  my  great-uncle  had  given  me  a 
command. 

The  clamour  we  made  first  drew  the  other 
soldiers,  and  next  a  little  dapper  officer  from  the 
guard-room  behind  the  inner  gate,  who  ran  out 
towards  us,  and  at  the  utmost  pitch  of  his  natu- 
rally piping  voice  demanded  in  the  name  of  all 
gods,  thunders,  and  lightning-blasts  what  the 
matter  was. 

My  particular  sentinel's  utterance  was  some- 
thing impeded  by  the  louis  d'or  in  his  cheek,  and 
I  was  consequently  able  to  offer  an  explanation 
before  him.  Uncovering  my  head  and  bowing,  I 
introduced  myself  in  elegant  phraseology,  though 
of  necessity,  for  the  distance  between  us,  in  tones 
more  suited  to  the  parade  ground  than  to  a 
polite  ceremony,  and  laid  bare  my  unfortunate 
position.  I  bewailed  that  through  my  brief  halt 
in  Budissin,  ignorant  of  the  infection,  I  had  evi- 
dently made  myself  amenable  to  quarantine,  and 
requested  his  courteous  assistance  in  the  matter. 

My  name  was  evidently  quite  unfamiliar  to  his 
ears,  but,  perceiving  that  he  had  to  deal  with  an 
equal,  the  little  officer  at  once  returned  my  salute 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  159 

with  an  extra  flourish,  and  my  civility  by  ordering 
the  sentry  to  stand  aside.  Then,  advancing  gin- 
gerly in  the  mud  to  a  more  reasonable  interval  for 
conversation,  he  informed  me,  with  another  sweep- 
ing bow,  that  he  was  Captain  Freiherr  von  Krap- 
pitz,  and  that,  while  it  would  be  his  pleasure  to 
serve  me  in  every  possible  manner,  he  regretted 
deeply  that  his  orders  were  such  that  he  could 
only  ratify  the  sentry's  conduct. 

"  And  are  there  no  means,  then,"  cried  I,  "  by 
which  I  can  communicate  in  person  with  any  resi- 
dent of  the  palace  ? " 

"  In  person,"  said  the  officer,  "  I  regret,  none. 
His  Serene  Highness's  orders  are  stringent,  and 
when  I  tell  you  that  our  Princess  is  actually  be- 
hind these  walls,  you  will  understand  the  neces- 
sity. The  sickness  has  been  appalling,"  he  added. 

He  must  have  seen  the  blank  dismay  upon  my 
countenance,  for  his  own  sharp  visage  expressed 
a  comical  mixture  of  sympathy  and  curiosity,  and 
again  approaching  two  steps  he  proceeded  : 

"  I  could  perhaps  convey  some  message.  I  shall 
soon  be  relieved  from  duty  here.  The  person  you 
wish  to  see  is ? " 

"  It  is  a  lady,"  said  I,  flushing. 

This  was  what  the  little  gentleman  had  evi- 
dently expected.  Suppressing  a  grin  of  satisfac- 


160  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

tion,  he  gave  another  salute  and  placed  himself 
quite  at  my  disposal.  But  I  had  an  unsurmount- 
able  objection  to  announce  my  real  relationship 
to  the  woman  who  had  fled  from  my  protection. 
Courteous  as  my  interlocutor  was,  and  honourable 
and  kind  as  he  seemed  to  be,  I  could  send  no  mes- 
sage to  my  wife  through  him. 

"  If  you  will  see  to  the  safe  delivery  of  a  letter," 
said  I,  "  I  should  be  grateful  indeed." 

His  face  fell. 

"It  is  possible,  perhaps,"  he  said  dubiously, 
"  but  less  easy  of  accomplishment.  There  will  be 
the  necessity  of  disinfection.  If  you  think  your 
billet-doux  —  forgive  me  for  supposing  you  to  be 
a  sufferer  from  the  tender  passion,  and  believe  me 
I  speak  with  sympathy "  (here  he  thumped  his 
little  chest  and  heaved  from  its  restricted  depths 
a  noisy  sigh)  —  "  if  you  think  your  billet-doux  will 
not  lose  of  its  sweetness  by  a  prolonged  immersion 
in  vinegar,  I  will  do  what  I  can.  Nay,  I  think  I 
can  promise  you  that  your  letter  will  be  delivered, 
if  you  will  kindly  inform  me  who  the  fair  recipient 
is  to  be." 

Again  I  hesitated.  I  would  not  call  her  by  her 
maiden  name ;  to  speak  of  her  as  my  wife,  to  bawl 
my  strange  story  on  the  high  road,  was  not  only 
intolerable  to  my  pride,  but  seemed  inadvisable 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  161 

and  certainly  imprudent  in  my  ignorance  of  her 
attitude  at  the  Court. 

"It  is,"  said  I,  "one  of  your  Princess's  Court 
ladies."  And  here  his  volubility  spared  me  further 
circumlocution. 

"  It  can  certainly  not  be,"  he  cried,  "  that  you 
have  formed  an  unhappy  attachment  for  the  Frau 
Grafin  von  Kornstein?  There  remains  then  only 
the  young  Comtesse  d'Assier,  Fraulein  von  Auer- 
bach  and  her  sister,  and  Fraulein  Ottilie  Pahlen  — 
these  are  all  of  our  fair  circle  that  are  now  in 
attendance  at  the  palace." 

"It  is  the  last  lady,"  I  said,  and  was  at  once 
glad  of  my  own  circumspection  and  troubled  in 
my  mind  that  she  should  be  keeping  her  secret 
so  well. 

"Mes  compliments,"  said  he  with  a  smirk,  but  I 
thought  also  with  a  shade  of  patronage,  as  if  by 
mentioning  her  last  he  had  also  shown  her  to  be 
the  last  in  his  worldly  esteem.  Once,  doubtless, 
this  would  have  galled  me. 

"Then  if  I  write  now,"  I  cried,  "and  you,  ac- 
cording to  your  kind  offer,  take  charge  of  my 
letter,  how  soon  can  it  be  in  her  hands  ? " 

"But  as  soon  as  the  guard  has  relieved  me, 
good  sir,  am  I  free  to  act  the  gallant  Mercury  — 
pity  it  is  that  these  sordid  details  of  sickness 
v 


1 62  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

and  quarantine  should  come  to  spoil  so  pretty  an 
errand.  This  was  a  fair  Court  for  Cupid  before 
the  ugly  plague  came  on  us.  Yes,"  he  added, 
"  I  have  seen  days  ! " 

I  had  already  drawn  out  my  tablets,  and,  thank- 
ing him  hurriedly  (without,  I  fear,  evincing  much 
interest  in  his  sentimental  reflections),  turned  and, 
making  a  standing  desk  of  my  horse,  with  the 
sheet  spread  upon  the  saddle,  began,  all  in  the 
dreary  drizzle,  to  trace  with  fingers  stiffened  from 
the  cold  the  few  lines  which  were  to  bring  my 
wife  back  to  me. 

I  had  little  time  for  composition,  and  so  wrote 
the  words  as  they  welled  up  from  my  heart. 

"Dear  love,"  said  I,  in  the  French  which  had 
been  the  language  of  our  happiest  moments,  "  your 
poor  scholar  has  learnt  his  lesson  so  well  that  he 
cannot  live  without  his  teacher.  Forget  what  has 
come  between  us.  Remember  only  all  that  unites 
us,  and  forgive.  I  have,  it  seems,  involved  myself 
in  difficulty  by  passing  through  Budissin,  and  so 
will,  I  fear,  have  to  endure  delay  before  being 
permitted  sight  of  your  sweet  face  again.  But  let 
me  have  a  word  which  may  help  me  to  bear  the 
separation,  let  me  know  that  I  may  carry  home 
my  wife."  I  signed  it,  "Your  poor  scholar  and 
loving  husband."  Then  I  folded  it,  fastened  it 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  163 

with  a  wafer,  and  after  a  minute's  pause  decided 
to  burn  my  ships  and  address  it  by  the  right  name 
of  her  to  whom  I  destined  it  —  "Madame  Ottilie 
de  Jennico,  Dame  d'honneur  de  S.  A.  S.  la  Prin- 
cesse  Marie  Ottilie  de  Lusace." 

Bending  over  the  living  desk,  —  the  poor  patient 
brute  never  budged  but  for  his  heaving  flanks,  — 
I  laid  for  a  second,  unperceived  I  thought,  my  lips 
upon  that  name  which  haunted  me,  sleeping  and 
waking,  and  turning,  with  the  letter  in  my  hand, 
found  the  Freiherr  watching  me,  with  his  head 
upon  one  side  and  so  comic  an  air  of  sympathy 
that,  at  another  moment,  I  should  have  burst  out 
laughing. 

"It  is  mille  dommages,"  quoth  he  as,  bending 
his  supple  spine  again,  he  drew  his  sword  with  a 
charming  gesture  of  courtesy,  "that  this  chaste 
salute  should  have  to  pass  through  the  bitter 
waves  of  the  Court  doctor's  vinegar  basin  before 
reaching  the  virginal  lips  for  which  it  is  intended." 

"Then  I  may  rely  upon  your  countenance?" 
said  I,  unmindful  of  his  mock  Versailles  floweri- 
ness  as  I  fixed  my  missive  to  the  point  of  the 
sword  extended  towards  me  for  that  purpose  by 
the  longest  arm  the  little  fellow  could  make.  I 
knew  he  would  not  read  the  tell-tale  inscription 
until  the  unpoetic  process  he  had  so  feelingly 


164  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

lamented  should  have  been  gone  through,  and  I 
wondered  something  anxiously  whether  it  would 
not  prove  another  complication,  my  wife  in  her 
wounded  pride  having  thus  chosen  to  conceal  our 
marriage  —  in  truth,  I  might  have  known  it :  had 
she  not  shaken  off  my  ring?  Seeing  upon  what 
grounds  we  had  parted,  however,  I  dared  not  have 
addressed  her  otherwise,  and  so  could  see  no  way 
but  to  run  some  risk. 

"When  may  I  hope  to  receive  an  answer?  — 
you  will  forgive  my  impatience,"  said  I,  with  a 
somewhat  rueful  smile,  "for  you  have  some  know- 
ledge of  the  human  heart,  I  see,  and  so  I  venture 
further  to  trespass  on  your  great  courtesy.  I  will 
meet  here  any  messenger  you  may  depute  at  any 
hour  you  name  this  afternoon." 

"Myself,  sir,  myself,"  said  the  good-natured 
gentleman,  "and  in  as  short  a  space  as  possible. 
Shall  we  say  three  o'clock?" 

There  were  then  a  few  minutes  wanting  to  noon 
by  my  uncle's  famous  chronometer.  Three  hours 
seemed  long,  but,  as  we  must  ever  learn  to  do  in 
life,  I  had  to  be  content  with  a  slice  where  I 
wanted  the  loaf.  (Now  I  have  not  even  a  crumb 
for  my  starving  heart,  and  yet  I  live.) 

As  I  had  surmised,  my  messenger  continued  to 
hold  the  missive  at  the  extreme  length  of  his 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  165 

weapon  and  arm,  while  we  made  our  divers  con- 
gees and  compliments.  Thus  we  parted,  he  to 
withdraw  to  his  guard-house,  and  I,  with  my  attend- 
ant, to  ride  back  to  the  nearest  village,  with  what 
appetite  we  might  for  our  noonday  meal. 

I  rode  alone  again  to  the  rendezvous,  full  early, 
poor  fool !  Janos  I  had  sent  on  to  find  lodgings 
for  me  in  the  neighbourhood,  out  of  range  of 
infection,  so  that  my  time  of  purgatory  need  not 
be  an  hour  prolonged. 

The  sky  had  cleared  somewhat  and  it  rained 
no  more,  but  there  was  now  a  penetrating  and 
moisture-charged  wind.  A  little  after  the  stroke 
of  three  my  friend  of  the  morning  came  forth, 
waved  aside  the  sentry  as  before,  and  halted  within 
the  former  distance,  while  I  dismounted.  His 
countenance  was  far  from  bearing  the  beaming 
cordiality  with  which  he  had  last  surveyed  me,  nor 
had  his  bow  anything  like  its  previous  depth  and 
roundness.  He  drew  a  folded  paper  from  his 
pocket,  attached  it  to  the  point  of  his  sword, 
according  to  the  process  I  had  already  witnessed, 
and  presented  it  to  me,  observing  drily : 

"  I  regret,  sir,  that  there  seems  to  be  some  mis- 
take about  this  matter.  The  Court  doctor,  who 
duly  delivered  the  letter  at  the  palace,  informs  me 
that  none  of  her  Highness's  ladies-in-waiting  will 


1 66  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

consent  to  receive  it,  it  being  indeed  addressed  to 
some  person  unknown  among  them.  There  is  no 
lady  of  the  name  of  Jennico  among  her  Highness's 
attendants." 

I  felt  myself  blanching. 

"Am  I  to  understand,"  said  I,  "that  Fraulein 
Ottilie  Pahlen  has  repudiated  this  letter  ? " 

"My  good  sir,"  said  he,  looking  at  me,  I 
thought,  with  a  sort  of  compassion,  as  if  he  feared 
I  was  weak  in  my  head,  "  I  understand  from  the 
Court  doctor  that  Mademoiselle  Pahlen  was  'the 
lady  to  whom  the  letter  was  at  once  offered, 
according  to  my  request  and  yours.  There  is  per- 
haps some  mystery?"  —  here  his  interest  seemed 
to  flicker  up  again,  and  he  smiled  as  who  would 
say,  "  confide  in  me ";  but  I  could  not  bring  my 
tongue  to  this  humiliation,  less  than  ever  then. 

I  flicked  the  poor,  vinegar-sodden,  despised  epis- 
tle from  the  point  of  his  sword,  and,  spreading  it 
out  once  again,  added  to  it  in  a  sort  of  frenzy  this 
appeal : 

"  For  God's  sake  forgive  me !  You  cannot 
mean  to  send  me  away  like  this.  Ottilie,  write 
me  one  line,  for  from  my  soul  I  love  you." 

Then  I  pasted  the  sheet  again,  and,  drawing  a 
line  through  the  title,  wrote  above  it  in  great 
letters : 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  167 

"  Fraulein  Ottilie  Pahlen,"  and  then  I  said  to 
the  officer  : 

"You  will  be  doing  a  deed  of  truer  kindness 
than  you  can  imagine,  Captain  von  Krappitz,  if 
you  will  have  this  letter  placed  again  in  the  hands 
of  Fraulein  Pahlen.  More  I  cannot  say  now,  b'l*: 
some  day,  if  my  fortune  is  not  more  evil  than  I 
dare  reflect  upon,  I  will  explain." 

"Wait  here  half  an  hour,"  he  responded  with 
a  return  of  his  good  nature ;  "  I  am  off  duty  and 
free  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  If  I  can  induce  the 
Court  doctor  to  attend  to  me  —  in  truth,  he  is  of  a 
very  surly  mood  this  afternoon  —  I  trust  you  may 
see  me  return  a  messenger  of  better  tidings." 

Besides  a  very  bubbling  heat  of  curiosity  there 
was  real  amiability  in  this  readiness  to  help  me. 

The  half  hour  sped  and  half  an  hour  beyond  it 
—  why  do  I  linger  upon  such  details  ?  From 
sheer  cowardly  reluctance,  I  believe,  to  describe 
those  moments  of  my  great  despair. 

And  then  a  cockscomb  of  a  servant  fellow,  in 
gorgeous  livery  and  ribboned  cue,  stepped  forth 
from  the  gates,  sniffing  a  bunch  of  stinking  herbs, 
and  stood  and  surveyed  me  for  a  second  from  head 
to  foot,  grinning  all  over  his  insolent  visage,  till  I 
wonder  how  I  kept  my  riding-whip  from  searing 
it  across. 


1 68  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

"Well,  sir?"  said  I  sternly. 

He  felt,  maybe,  the  note  of  master  in  my  voice, 
for  he  cringed  a  little,  and,  more  civilly  than  his 
countenance  suggested,  requested  to  know  if  I  was 
the  gentleman  with  whom  Captain  the  Freiherr 
von  Krappitz  had  recently  been  conversing.  Upon 
my  reply  he  gingerly  held  up  a  filthy  rag  of  paper, 
in  which  I  recognised,  with  a  failing  of  the  heart 
such  as  I  cannot  set  forth  in  words,  my  own  letter 
once  more.  And  in  sight  of  my  discomfiture, 
resuming  his  native  impudence,  he  proceeded  in 
loud  tones : 

"  My  master  bids  me  inform  you  that  he  can  no 
longer  be  the  means  of  annoying  a  young  lady 
whom  he  respects  so  much  as  Mademoiselle 
Pahlen.  She  has  requested  that  your  letter  may 
be  returned  to  you  again,  and  declares  that  she 
knows  no  such  person  as  yourself,  and  is  quite  at 
a  loss  why  she  should  be  made  the  object  of  this 
strange  persecution." 

The  rogue  sang  out  the  words  as  one  repeating 
a  lesson  in  which  he  has  been  well  drilled. 

As  I  stood  staring  at  him,  all  other  feelings 
swallowed  up  in  the  overwhelming  tide  of  my  dis- 
appointment, I  saw  him,  as  in  a  dream,  toss  the 
much-travelled  note  in  the  mud  between  us,  turn 
on  his  heel,  exchange  a  grin  with  the  nearest 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  169 

sentry,  jerk  his  thumb  over  his  shoulder  in  my 
direction,  tap  his  forehead  significantly,  and  finally 
swagger  out  of  sight  behind  the  little  wicket. 

And  still  I  stood  immovable,  unable  to  formulate 
a  single  thought  in  my  paralysed  brain,  the  whole 
world  before  me  a  dull  blank,  yet  knowing  that, 
when  I  should  begin  to  feel  again,  it  would  be  hell 
indeed. 

A  shout  from  the  sentry  suddenly  aroused  me. 

"  'Tis  better,"  he  called,  "  that  you  should  move 
on." 

And  in  good  sooth  what  had  I  more  to  do  before 
those  gates  ?  I  mounted  my  horse  and  rode  back- 
wards and  forwards  upon  that  wretched  scrap  of 
paper  that  had  been  charged  with  all  the  dearest 
longings  of  my  heart,  until  it  lay  indistinguishable 
in  the  mud  around  it.  Then  I  set  spurs  to  my 
jade,  and  we  rode,  a  well-matched  couple,  away 
towards  the  strange  village  where  I  was  to  meet 
Janos. 

With  the  memory  of  that  bitterest  hour  of  his 
life  burning  so  hot  within  him  that  he  could  con- 
tinue his  sedentary  task  no  longer,  but  must  rise 
and  pace  the  room  after  the  sullen  way  now  well 
known  to  Janos  as  betokening  his  master's  worst 
moments,  Basil  Jennico  langhed  aloud.  Pride 


170  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

must  have  a  fall !     God  knows  his  pride  had  had 
falls  enough  to  kill  the  most  robust  of  vices. 

Had  ever  man  been  so  humiliated,  so  con- 
temned as  he  ?  Had  ever  poor  soul  been  made  to 
suffer  more  relentlessly  where  it  had  sinned  ? 

"  I  have  been  brought  low,  very  low,"  said  he  to 
himself,  and  thought  of  the  early  days  at  Tollendhal 
when  its  young  lord  had  deemed  the  whole  earth 
created  for  his  use.  Yet,  even  as  he  spoke,  he 
knew  :n  his  heart  that  the  pride  that  was  born  in 
him  would  die  with  him  only,  and  that  if  it  had 
been  mastered  awhile  it  was  only  but  because  love 
had  been  stronger  still. 

When  he  had  taken  the  roturiere  unreservedly  to 
his  heart;  when  he  had  returned  from  the  moun- 
tains to  seek  reconciliation  ;  when  he  had  followed 
her  upon  her  flight,  had  twice  besought  her  to  re- 
turn to  him ;  when  he  had  made  his  third  and  last 
futile  appeal  in  the  face  of  a  slashing  rebuff,  pride 
had  lain  beneath  the  heel  of  love.  He  had  been 
beaten,  after  all,  by  a  pride  greater  than  his  own ; 
and  he  knew  that  were  she  to  call  him  even  now, 
he  would  come  to  her  bidding  in  spite  of  all  and 
through  all. 

The  boards  of  the  narrow,  irregular  room  creaked 
beneath  his  impatient  tread.  Outside,  the  sounds 
of  traffic  were  dying  away.  The  last  belated 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  171 

coaches  had  clattered  down  the  streets,  the  tall 
running  footman  had  extinguished  his  link.  Basil 
Jennico  turned  instinctively  towards  the  south, 
like  the  restless  compass-needle,  a  way  that  had 
grown  into  a  habit  of  late  as  his  spirit  strove  to 
bridge  across  the  leagues  of  sea  and  land  that  lay 
between  him  and  his  wife. 

Was  she  thinking  of  him  now  ?  What  was  his 
curse  was  at  the  same  time  his  triumph :  he  defied 
her  to  forget  him  any  more  than  he  could  forget 
her !  Those  hours,  had  she  not  shared  them 
with  him  ?  Come  what  would,  no  man  could  lay 
claim  to  be  to  her  what  he  had  been.  No  man  — 
that  way  madness  lay  /  .  .  . 

He  looked  round  at  the  pages  scored  with  his 
writings  and  gave  a  heart-sick  sigh,  and  then  at 
the  door  of  the  room  beyond,  wherein  stood  that 
huge  four-post  bed  where  he  had  tossed  through 
such  sleepless  hours  and  dreamed  such  dreams 
that  the  waking  moment  held  the  bitterness  of 
death.  Next  he  thought  of  the  town  beyond,  so 
full,  yet  to  him  so  empty. 

How  to  pass  the  time  that  went  by  with  such 
leaden  feet  ?  The  days  were  bad  enough,  but  the 
nights  —  the  nights  were  terrible  !  Should  he 
don  his  most  brilliant  suit  and  hie  him  out  into 
the  throng  of  men  of  fashion  ?  Some  of  the  Wo- 


172  The  Pride  of  Jennuo 

schutzski  gold  would  not  come  amiss  at  the  dicing- 
table  of  my  Lady  Brambury,  or  at  the  Cocoa-tree, 
or  yet  the  Hummums,  where  (his  head  being  as 
strong  as  the  best  of  them)  he  could  crack  a  few 
bottles  in  good  company.  Good  company,  forsooth ! 
What  could  all  the  world  be  to  him  for  want  of  that 
one  small  being  ?  He  might  drink  himself  into 
oblivion,  perhaps,  a  few  hours'  oblivion,  and  be  car- 
ried home  in  the  early  morning  and  wake  at  midday 
with  a  new  headache  and  the  old  heartache.  Pah  ! 
Of  three  evils  choose  the  least :  since  the  great 
feather  bed  would  hold  no  sleep  yet  awhile ;  since 
to  drag  his  misery  into  company  was  to  add  fire  to 
its  fever,  Mr.  Jennico  sat  down  again  to  his  task, 
hoping  so  to  weary  his  brain  that  it  would  grant 
him  a  few  hours'  dreamless  rest. 


CHAPTER  II 

CAPTAIN  BASIL  JENNICO'S  MEMOIR  CONTINUED 

THERE  is  very  little  more  to  tell.  The  new  inn 
wherein  I  found  Janos  established  was  but  a  poor 
place  in  a  poor  village,  a  sort  of  summer  resort 
abandoned  in  winter-time  save  by  its  own  wretched 
inhabitants.  The  private  chamber  allotted  to  me 
—  it  was  the  only  one  —  was  bitter  cold,  but  my 
choice  lay  between  that  and  the  common  room 
below,  full  of  evil  smells  and  reeking  boors  and 
stifling  stove  heat. 

But  I  was  in  no  mood  to  reck  of  bodily  incon- 
venience. My  further  action  had  to  be  determined 
upon  ;  and,  torn  two  ways  between  anger  and  long- 
ing, I  passed  the  evening  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  night  in  futile  battle  with  myself. 

At  length  I  resolved  upon  a  plan  which  brought 
some  calm  into  my  soul,  and  with  it  a  creeping 
ray  of  hope. 

I  would  lay  my  case  before  the  Princess  herself. 
She  had  been  ever  kindly  in  her  dealings  towards 
me.  I  had  no  reason  to  imagine  but  that  she  was 


1/4  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

well  disposed  in  my  favour ;  she  had  had  no  part 
in  her  maid  of  honour's  double  dealings  with  me : 
I  would  pray  her  to  speak  to  the  wayward  being 
on  my  behalf,  to  place  before  her  her  duty  towards 
the  husband  she  had  herself  chosen. 

Thus  next  morning,  as  clearly,  temperately,  and 
respectfully  as  might  be.  I  indited  my  letter,  sealed 
it  upon  each  fold  with  the  Jennico  coat-of-arms, 
and,  after  deliberation,  despatched  Jdnos  with  it. 
The  fellow  had,  according  to  my  orders,  purchased 
fresh  horses,  and  cut  a  better  figure  than  the  yes- 
terday's, when  he  set  off  upon  his  errand.  Duly 
and  minutely  instructed,  he  was  to  present  him- 
self at  another  gate  of  the  palace,  and  I  trusted 
that,  making  good  use  of  the  purse  with  which  he 
was  supplied,  his  mission  might  be  more  success- 
fully accomplished  than  had  been  mine. 

And  indeed,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  this 
was  the  case.  He  came  back  sooner  than  I  had 
supposed  it  possible,  to  inform  me  that,  having 
been  able  to  say  he  was  not  from  Budissin,  he  had 
been  received  with  civility,  and  permitted  to  wait 
at  the  guard-house  of  the  north  entrance  while  my 
letter  was  carried  to  the  palace.  After  a  short 
time,  the  messenger  who  had  taken  charge  of  it 
had  returned,  demanded  and  carefully  noted  my 
name,  qualities,  and  exact  whereabouts,  and  bidden 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  175 

him  go  back  to  his  master  with  the  assurance  that 
the  Princess  would  send  her  answer. 

I  waited,  tramping  the  short  breadth  of  my  mis- 
erable room  like  a  caged  wolf,  anxiously  peering 
every  other  minute  through  the  rain-stained  win- 
dow which  overlooked  the  high  road. 

Reason  seemed  to  offer  but  one  conclusion  con- 
cerning the  result  of  the  last  appeal:  she  would 
come  back  to  me.  My  offence  —  bad  as  it  had 
been,  unmanly  towards  the  woman  who  had  lain 
in  my  arms,  unworthy  of  a  gentleman  towards  the 
lady  whom  he  had  resolved  to  acknowledge  as  his 
wife  —  my  offence  was  not  one  that  so  true  a  peni- 
tence might  not  amply  atone  for.  That  was  what 
reason  said.  But,  as  often  as  confidence  began  to 
rise  in  my  heart,  an  instinctive  dread  overcame  it,  an 
unaccountable,  ominous  misgiving  that  the  happi- 
ness I  had  once  held  in  my  hand  and  so  perversely 
cast  from  me  was  never  to  be  mine  again.  And,  as 
the  hours  slowly  fell  away,  the  dread  became  more 
poignant,  and  the  effort  to  hope  more  futile. 

Janos  had  returned  with  his  message  about  noon. 
It  must  have  been  at  least  five  o'clock  (for  the 
world  outside  was  wrapped  in  murky  shadow)  when 
there  came  a  sound  on  the  road  that  made  my 
heart  leap  :  a  clatter  of  horses'  hoofs  and  the  rum- 
bling of  a  coach.  I  threw  open  my  window  and 


176  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

thrust  out  my  head.  How  vividly  the  impression 
comes  back  on  me  now  !  —  the  cold  rain  upon  my 
throbbing  temples,  the  blinding  light  of  joy  that 
filled  my  brain  as  I  strained  my  eyes  to  distinguish 
in  the  dusk  the  nature  of  the  vehicle  which  an- 
nounced its  approach  with  such  important  noise. 
It  was  a  carriage,  guarded  by  an  escort  of  dragoons, 
who  rode  by  the  door,  musket  on  thigh.  An  escort ! 
It  must  be  the  Princess  herself :  the  Princess  come 
in  person,  the  noble  and  gentle  lady,  to  bring  me 
back  my  wife,  my  love ! 

Fool !  Fool !  Fool  thrice  told !  for  my  vain- 
glorious self-conceit,  my  loving,  yearning  heart. 

My  spirits  bounded  at  one  leap  to  their  old  im- 
portant, arrogant  level.  I  threw  a  hasty  glance  in 
the  mirror  to  note  that  the  pallor  of  my  counte- 
nance and  the  disorder  of  my  unpowdered  hair 
were  after  all  not  unbecoming.  As  I  dashed  along 
the  narrow  wooden  passage  and  down  the  break- 
neck creaking  stairs  I  will  not  say  that  in  all  the 
glow  of  my  heart,  that  had  been  so  cold,  there  was 
not  now,  in  this  sudden  relief  from  the  iron  press- 
ure of  anxiety,  a  point  of  anger  against  the  little 
truant  —  a  vague  determination  to  establish  a  cer- 
tain balance  of  account,  to  inflict  some  mild  pen- 
ance upon  her  as  a  set-off  against  the  very  bitter 
one  she  had  imposed  on  me.  A  minute  ago  I 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  177 

would  have  knelt  before  her  and  humbled  myself 
to  the  very  dust :  when  I  reached  the  door  of  the 
drinking-room  I  was  already  pluming  myself  upon 
a  resolution  to  be  merciful. 

I  broke  into  the  room  out  of  the  darkness  with 
my  head  high,  and  was  at  first  so  dazzled  by  the 
light  within,  as  well  as  by  the  reeling  triumph  in 
my  brain,  that  for  an  instant  I  could  distinguish 
nothing. 

Then,  with  a  sickening  revulsion,  with  such 
rage  as  may  have  torn  the  soul  of  Lucifer  struck 
from  the  heights  of  heaven  to  the  depths  of  hell, 
I  saw  the  single  figure  of  Captain  von  Krappitz 
standing  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  with  much 
gravity  and  importance  of  demeanour.  Flattened 
against  the  walls,  the  boors  stood  open-mouthed, 
all  struck  with  amazement ;  and  the  little  host 
was  bowing  anxiously  to  the  belaced  officer.  Two 
dragoons  guarded  the  door. 

Before  even  a  word  was  uttered  I  felt  that  all 
was  over  for  me. 

Concentrating  my  energies,  then,  to  face  mis- 
fortune with  as  brave  a  front  as  I  might,  I  halted 
before  my  friend  of  yesterday,  and  waited  in 
silence  for  him  to  open  proceedings. 

He  bowed  to  me  with  great  courtesy,  looking 
upon  me  the  while  with  eyes  at  once  compassion- 


178  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

ate,  curious,  and  yet  respectful,  as  though  upon 
one  of  newly-discovered  importance,  and  said  : 

"  I  grieve,  sir,  to  be  the  bearer  of  an  order  which 
may  cause  you  displeasure,  but  I  beg  you,  being  a 
soldier  yourself,  to  consider  me  only  as  the  instru- 
ment which  does  not  presume  to  judge  but  obeys. 
Be  pleased  to  read  this  —  it  is  addressed  to  you." 

I  took  the  great  sealed  envelope  with  fingers  as 
cold  and  heavy  as  marble,  broke  it  open  mechani- 
cally, and  read.  At  first  it  was  without  any  com- 
prehension of  the  words,  which  were  nevertheless 
set  forth  in  a  very  free,  flowing  hand,  but  pres- 
ently, as  the  blood  rushed  in  a  tide  of  sudden 
anger  to  my  brain,  with  a  quickening  and  re- 
doubled intensity  of  intelligence. 

"  The  Princess  Marie  Ottilie  of  Sachs-Lausitz,"  so  ran  the 
precious  document,  "  has  received  M.  de  Jennico's  letter  con- 
cerning a  certain  lady. 

"  M.  de  Jennico  has  already  been  given  clearly  to  understand 
that  his  importunities  are  distressing. 

"As  the  lady  in  question  is  a  member  of  the  Princess's 
household,  M.  de  Jennico  will  not  be  surprised  at  the  steps 
which  are  now  taken  to  secure  her  against  further  per- 
secution. He  is  advised  to  accept  the  escort  of  the  officer 
who  carries  this  letter,  and  warned  that  any  attempt  at  re- 
sistance, or  any  future  infringement  of  the  order  issued  by 
command  of  his  Serene  Highness,  will  be  visited  in  the  se- 
verest manner." 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  179 

In  a  bloody  heat  of  rage  I  looked  up,  ready  for 
any  folly  —  to  strangle  the  poor  courteous  little 
instrument  of  a  woman's  implacable  resentment  — 
to  find  death  on  the  bayonets  of  the  hulking  sen- 
tinels at  the  door,  and  be  glad  of  it,  so  that  I  had 
shed  somebody's  blood  for  these  insults  !  But, 
meeting  Captain  von  Krappitz's  steady  glance,  I 
paused.  And  in  that  pause  my  sense  returned. 

If  love  itself  be  a  madness,  as  they  say,  what 
name  shall  we  give  to  our  wrath  against  those 
that  we  love !  For  that  minute  no  poor  chained 
Bedlamite  could  have  been  more  dangerously  mad 
than  I.  But  my  British  dread  of  ridicule  saved  my 
life  that  day,  and  perhaps  that  of  others  besides. 

Perhaps  also  the  real  pity,  the  sympathy,  that 
was  stamped  on  the  captain's  honest  face  had 
something  to  say  to  calming  me.  At  any  rate,  I 
recovered  from  my  convulsion,  and  awoke  to  the 
fact  that  blood  was  running  down  my  shirt  from 
where  I  had  clenched  my  teeth  upon  my  lip. 

I  must  have  been  a  fearsome  object  to  behold, 
and  I  have  a  good  opinion  of  Captain  von  Krappitz's 
coolness  that  he  should  thus  have  stood  and  faced 
a  man  of  twice  his  size  and,  in  such  a  frenzy,  of 
probably  four  times  his  strength,  with  never  a  sig- 
nal to  his  guard  or  even  a  step  in  retreat. 

Said  this  gentleman  then,  delicately  averting  his 


l8o  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

eyes  from  my  countenance,  so  soon  as  he  saw  I 
had  come  to  my  senses  : 

"  If  you  will  glance  at  this  paper  you  will  see 
that  my  orders  are  stringent,  and  I  shall  be  greatly 
indebted  to  your  courtesy  if  you  will  co-operate  in 
their  being  carried  out  in  the  least  unpleasant 
manner  possible.  Indeed,  sir,"  he  added  in  my 
ear  hastily  and  kindly,  "  resistance  would  be  worse 
than  useless." 

I  glanced  at  the  paper  he  presented  to  me, 
caught  the  words:  "Order  to  Captain  Freiherr 
von  Krappitz  to  convey  M.  de  Jennico  beyond  the 
frontier  of  Lusatia,  at  any  point  he  may  himself 
choose  "  ;  caught  a  further  glimpse  of  such  expres- 
sions :  "  formal  warning  to  M.  de  Jennico  never 
to  set  foot  more  within  the  dominions  of  the  Duke 
of  Lausitz,"  "  severe  penalty,"  and  so  forth.  I 
glanced,  and  tossed  the  paper  contemptuously  on 
the  table. 

That  wife  of  mine  had  greater  interest  at  the 
Court  than  she  had  been  wont  to  pretend,  and  she 
was  using  it  to  some  purpose.  She  was  mightily 
determined  that  her  offending  husband  should  pay 
his  debt  to  her  pride,  to  the  last  stripe  of  his  pun- 
ishment. 

I  smiled  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul.  I  was 
sane  enough  now,  God  knows ! 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  181 

Well,  she  should  have  her  wish,  she  should  be 
persecuted  no  longer. 

"  I  place  myself  entirely  at  your  convenience," 
said  M.  de  Krappitz  discreetly,  adding,  however, 
the  significant  remark,  "  my  order  gives  me  twelve 
hours." 

He  picked  up  the  document  as  he  spoke,  folded 
it  carefully,  and  placed  it  in  his  breast  pocket. 

"  Oh,  as  for  me,"  said  I,  "  I  ask  for  no  respite." 
(Could  I  desire  to  waste  a  second  before  shaking 
the  dust  of  this  cursed  country  from  my  feet  ?) 
"  The  time  but  to  warn  my  servant  and  bid  him 
truss  up  my  portmanteau  and  saddle  the  horses. 
I  understand,"  I  added,  with  what,  I  fear,  was  a 
withering  smile,  "that  you  are  kind  enough  to 
offer  me  a  seat  in  your  carriage  ? " 

"  Ah,  my  dear  sir,"  returned  the  little  man,  with 
an  expression  of  relief,  "  what  a  delightful  thing  it 
is  to  deal  with  an  homme  d' esprit ! " 

And  so,  in  scarce  half-an-hour's  time,  the  tri- 
umphal procession  was  ready  to  set  forth.  I 
entered  the  coach,  the  Freiherr  took  his  seat  be- 
hind me,  Janos,  impassive,  mounted  his  horse 
between  two  dragoons,  whilst  my  own  mount  was 
led  by  a  third  soldier  in  the  rear.  And  in  this 
order  we  set  off  at  a  round  pace  for  the  Silesian 
frontier,  where  I  begged  to  be  deposited. 


1 82  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

At  first  my  good-tempered  and  garrulous  escort 
tried  in  vain  to  beguile  me  into  some  conversation 
upon  such  abstract  subjects  as  music  and  poetry. 
But  his  well-meant  efforts  failed  before  my  hope- 
less taciturnity,  and  it  was  in  silence  that  we 
concluded  the  transit  between  Rothenburg  and  the 
border. 

As  we  parted,  however,  he  held  out  his  hand. 
"  Sans  rancune,  camarade,"  said  he. 

What  could  I  do  but  clasp  the  good-natured  little 
paw  as  heartily  as  I  might,  and  echo,  although 
most  untruly,  "  Sans  rancune "  ?  To  the  very 
throat  I  was  full  of  rancour  for  everything  belong- 
ing to  Lusatia,  and  I  swear  the  bitterness  of  it  lay 
a  palpable  taste  on  my  tongue. 

A  free  man  again,  I  threw  myself  upon  my 
horse,  and  took  the  straightest  road  for  my  empty 
home.  Janos  had  the  wit  to  speak  no  word  to  me, 
save  a  direction  now  and  again  as  to  the  proper 
way.  And  we  rode  like  furies  through  the  cold, 
wet  night. 

"Breed  a  fine  stock  .  .  ."  had  said  my  good 
uncle  to  his  heir. 

At  least,  I  thought  —  and  the  sound  of  my 
laugh  rang  ghastly  even  in  my  own  ears  —  if  I 
have  brought  roture  into  the  family,  I  am  not  like 
now  to  graft  it  on  the  family  tree ! 


CHAPTER   III 

CAPTAIN  BASIL  JENNICO'S  MEMOIR,  RESUMES  THREE 
MONTHS  LATER,  AT  FARRINGDON  DANE 

SUFFOLK,  i^th  April,  1772. 

I  HAD  thought  upon  that  day  when,  in  my  ill 
temper,  I  irreparably  insulted  my  wife,  that  I 
could  never  bring  myself  to  face  the  exposure 
which  a  return  to  England  would  necessarily  bring 
about.  But  when  I  found  the  desolation  and  the 
haunting  memories  of  Tollendhal  like  to  rob  me  of 
all  I  had  left  of  reason  and  manliness ;  when,  to 
my  restless  spirit,  the  thought  of  home  seemed  to 
promise  some  chance  of  diversion  and  relief,  I  did 
not  hesitate.  Without  delay  I  set  to  work  to  put 
matters  at  Tollendhal  upon  a  sufficiently  regular 
scale,  also  to  have  realised  and  transferred  to  my 
London  bankers  a  sum  of  money  large  enough  to 
meet  any  reasonable  demand.  This  business  ac- 
complished, in  less  than  a  month  from  the  date  of 
the  ill-fated  Rothenburg  expedition  I  found  my- 
self breathing  my  native  air  again. 

Before  my  departure  I  charged  Schultz  —  and  I 
183 


184  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

know  I  can  rely  upon  his  faithfulness  —  to  be  per 
petually  on  the  look-out  for  any  communication 
from  Lausitz,  and  to  be  ready  to  give  any  one  im- 
mediate cognisance  of  my  whereabouts.  It  is  a 
forlorn  hope. 

Although  the  humour  had  come  upon  me  to  go 
back  to  my  own  land  —  after  the  fashion,  I  fancy, 
that  a  sick  man  deems  he  will  be  better  anywhere 
than  where  he  is  —  and  although  I  did  not  hesitate 
to  gratify  that  humour,  I  was,  nevertheless,  not 
blind  to  the  peculiar  position  I  must  occupy  among 
my  people.  I  had  no  desire  to  lay  claim  to  the 
honours  I  had  so  prematurely  announced,  no  desire 
to  present  myself  under  false  colours,  even  were 
such  an  imposture  likely  to  succeed ;  but  neither 
did  I  see  why  I  should  lay  bare  to  the  jeers  of  the 
fashionable  world,  to  the  sneers  of  dear  relatives 
and  friends,  or,  more  intolerable  still,  to  their 
compassion,  the  whole  pitiful  plot  of  that  comedy 
which  has  turned  to  such  tragedy  for  me.  So, 
when  I  wrote  to  my  mother  to  announce  my 
arrival,  I  adopted  a  purposely  evasive  tone. 

"  It  is  deeply  unfortunate,"  I  wrote,  "  that  you  should  have 
broken  the  bond  of  secrecy  which  I  enjoined  upon  you  when 
I  informed  you  of  my  intended  marriage.  You  know  too 
much  of  the  world,  my  dear  mother,  not  to  understand  that 
when  a  commoner  like  myself,  however  well  born  and  dowered, 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  185 

would  contract  an  alliance  with  the  heiress  of  a  reigning  house, 
it  is  more  than  likely  that  there  may  be  a  *  slip  'twixt  the  cup 
and  the  lip.'  My  cup  has  been  spilt.  I  come  home,  a  broken- 
hearted man,  to  find  myself,  I  fear,  owing  to  your  breach  of 
confidence,  the  laughing-stock  of  our  society.  But  the  yearn- 
ing for  home  is  too  strong  upon  me  to  be  resisted ;  I  am 
returning  to  England  at  once.  If  you  would  not  add  yet  more 
to  the  bitterness  of  my  lot  you  will  strenuously  deny  the  report 
you  indiscreetly  spread,  and  warn  curiosity-mongers  from 
daring  to  probe  a  wound  which  I  could  not  bear  even  your 
hand  to  touch." 

These  words,  by  which  I  intended  to  spare  my- 
self at  least  the  humiliation  of  personal  explana- 
tion, have  produced  an  unexpected  effect.  My 
poor  mother  performed  her  task  so  well  that  I  find 
myself  quite  as  much  the  hero  of  the  hour  over 
here  as  if  I  had  brought  back  my  exalted  bride. 

The  mystery  in  which  I  am  shrouded,  the  ob- 
vious  melancholy  of  my  demeanour,  the  very  indif- 
ference with  which  I  receive  all  notice,  added,  of 
course,  to  my  wealth,  and  possibly  to  the  belief 
that  I  am  still  a  prize  in  the  matrimonial  market, 
my  extraordinary  luck  at  cards,  when  I  can  be 
induced  to  play,  my  carelessness  to  loss  or  gain  — 
all  this  has  placed  me  upon  a  pinnacle  which  is  as 
gratifying  to  my  mother  as  (or,  so  I  hear,  for  I 
have  declined  all  reconciliation  with  the  renegade) 
it  is  galling  to  my  brother  and  his  family. 


1 86  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

But  the  best  yet,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  is 
that  no  one  has  dared  to  put  to  me  an  indis- 
creet question,  and  that  even  my  mother,  although 
her  wistful  eyes  implore  my  confidence,  respects 
my  silence. 

Now,  having  tried  in  vain  to  find  a  solace  in  the 
pleasures  of  town,  I  have  betaken  myself  to  that 
part  of  the  island  which  is  the  cradle  of  our  race, 
to  try  whether  a  taste  of  good  old  English  sport 
may  not  revive  some  interest  in  my  life. 

Often  in  that  last  month  at  Tollendhal,  when 
the  whole  land  was  locked  in  ice  and  the  grey  sky 
looked  down  pitilessly  upon  the  white  earth,  day 
by  day,  with  never  a  change  and  scarcely  a  shadow, 
I  thought  of  the  green  winters  of  my  youth  in  the 
old  country ;  of  rousing  gallops,  with  the  west 
wind  in  my  face,  across  wide  fields  all  verdant  still 
and  homely;  of  honest  English  faces,  English 
voices,  the  tongue  of  the  hounds,  the  blast  of  the 
cracked  horn,  with  almost  a  passion  of  desire.  It 
seemed  to  me  that,  if  I  could  be  back  in  the  midst 
of  it  all  again,  I  might  feel  as  the  boy  Basil  had 
felt,  and  be  rid,  were  it  but  for  the  space  of  a  good 
cross-country  run,  of  that  present  Basil  Jennico 
whose  brain  was  so  weary  of  working  upon  the 
same  useless  round,  whose  heart  was  so  sore  within 
him. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  187 

So  soon  therefore  as  the  weather  broke  —  for 
the  winter  has  been  hard  even  in  this  milder  cli- 
mate—  I  accepted  my  mother's  offer  of  her  dower- 
house,  set  up  a  goodly  stable  of  hunters,  and 
established  myself  at  the  Manor  of  Farringdon 
Dane.  I  have  actually  derived  some  satisfaction 
from  a  couple  of  days'  sport,  to  which  a  sight  of 
my  lord  brother's  discomfiture,  each  time  I  cut 
him  deliberately  in  the  face  of  the  whole  field,  has 
added  perhaps  a  grain. 

April  zgtk. 

I  am  this  day  like  the  man  in  the  Gospel  who, 
having  driven  out  the  devil  from  his  heart  and 
swept  and  garnished  it,  finds  himself  presently 
possessed  of  seven  devils  worse  than  the  first ! 
The  demon  of  wrath  I  had  exorcised,  I  believed, 
long  ago ;  the  fiend  of  unrest  and  longing  I  had 
thought  these  days  to  have  laid  too.  In  spite  of 
her  too  obdurate  resentment,  I  had  no  feeling  for 
my  wife,  wherever  she  might  be,  but  tenderness. 
Now,  oh,  Ottilie,  Ottilie !  do  I  most  hate  thee  or 
love  thee  ?  I  know  not,  by  my  soul !  Yet  this  at 
least  I  do  know :  mine  thou  art,  and  mine  thou 
shalt  remain,  though  we  never  meet  again  on 
earth :  mine,  as  I  am  thine,  though  the  true,  good 
race  of  Jennico  wither  and  die  on  my  barren  stock. 


1 88  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

But  what  serves  it  to  rant  in  this  fashion  to  my. 
self  when  I  have  not  even  the  satisfaction  of  hear- 
ing a  contradiction  —  not  even  an  excuse  to  shake 
my  fury?  Small  satisfaction  likewise  has  that 
puling,  mincing  messenger  to  carry  back  to  you, 
my  wife.  Poor  old  man !  I  am  fain  to  laugh  even 
in  my  anger  when  I  recall  his  panic-stricken  coun- 
tenance of  an  hour  ago. 

The  hounds  were  to  meet  at  ten  this  morning 
at  Sir  Percy  Spalding's,  not  three  miles  from  here, 
and  so  I  was  taking  the  day  easy.  I  had  but  just 
finished  breakfast,  and  was  standing  on  the  steps 
of  the  porch  quaffing  a  draught  of  ale,  as  I  awaited 
my  horse,  sniffing  the  while  the  moist  southern 
wind ;  and  my  thoughts  for  once  were  pleasantly 
occupied  — for  once  the  gnawing  canker  was  at  rest 
within  me.  Presently  my  attention  was  awakened 
by  the  rumbling  sound  of  wheels;  and,  looking 
towards  the  avenue,  yet  so  sparsely  be-leaved  as 
to  afford  a  clear  view  down  its  whole  length,  I  saw 
coming  along  it,  at  slow  pace,  a  heavy  vehicle, 
which  in  time  disclosed  itself  as  a  shabby,  hired 
travelling  chaise,  drawn  by  an  ancient  horse,  and 
driven  by  that  drunken  scoundrel  Bateman  from 
Yarmouth,  once  a  familiar  figure  to  my  childish 
eyes.  My  heart  leaped.  I  expected  no  one  — 
my  mother  was  at  Cheltenham  for  the  waters — • 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  189 

no  one,  save,  indeed,  her  whom  I  ever  uncon- 
sciously await! 

It  was  perhaps  the  unreasonable  disappoint- 
ment that  fell  upon  me,  when,  gazing  eagerly  for  a 
glimpse  of  the  occupant,  as  the  carriage  lumbered 
through  the  inner  gate,  I  saw  that  it  contained 
but  the  single  figure  of  an  old  man  (huddled, 
despite  the  spring  warmth  of  the  day,  in  furs  to 
the  very  chin)  that  turned  me  into  so  bitter  and 
black  a  temper. 

Even  as  the  chaise  drove  up  before  the  steps, 
and  as  I  stood  staring  down  at  it,  motionless, 
although  within  me  there  was  turmoil  enough,  the 
fellows  came  round  with  my  horses.  Bess,  the 
Irish  mare,  took  umbrage  at  the  little  grotesque 
figure  that,  with  an  alertness  one  would  scarcely 
have  given  it  credit  for,  skipped  from  the  chaise, 
looking  more  like  one  of  those  images  I  have  seen 
on  Saxon  clocks  than  anything  human.  How  she 
plunged  and  how  the  fool  that  held  her  stared,  and 
how  I  cursed  him  for  not  minding  his  business  — 
it  was  a  vast  relief  to  my  feelings  —  and  how  the 
old  gentleman  regarded  us  as  one  newly  come 
among  savages,  and  how  he  finally  advanced  upon 
me  mincing — I  laugh  again  to  think  back  upon  it! 
But  I  had  no  mind  to  laughter  then.  'Twas  plain, 
before  he  opened  his  mouth  to  speak,  that  my 


190  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

visitor  hailed  from  foreign  parts.  And  at  closer 
acquaintance  the  reason  why,  even  from  a  dis- 
tance, he  had  appeared  to  me  as  something  less 
than  human,  became  evident.  His  countenance 
was  shrivelled  and  seared  by  recent  smallpox ; 
scarred  in  a  manner  perfectly  fantastic  to  behold. 

That  curse  of  my  life,  that  persistent  hope  —  I 
believe  I  could  get  along  well  enough,  but  'tis  the 
hope  that  kills  me — began  to  stir  within  me. 

"Have  I  the  honour  of  speaking  to  Captain 
Basil  de  Jennico  ? "  said  the  puppet  in  French ; 
and  before  the  question  was  well  out  of  his  mouth, 
I  had  capped  it  with  another,  breathless : 

"  Come  you  not  from  Rothenburg  ? " 

He  bowed  and  scraped :  each  saw  he  had  his 
answer.  I  was  all  civility  now,  Heaven  help  me ! 
and  cordial  enough  to  make  up  for  a  more  discour- 
teous reception. 

I  ordered  my  horses  back  to  the  stables,  dis- 
missed the  chaise,  in  spite  of  the  newcomer's  pro- 
testations, and  led  him  within  the  house,  calling 
for  refreshments  for  him  ;  all  the  while  a  thousand 
questions,  to  which  I  yet  dreaded  the  answers, 
burning  on  my  tongue. 

I  had  installed  him  in  the  deepest  armchair  in 
the  apartment  I  habitually  used ;  I  had  kindled 
a  fire  with  my  own  hands,  for  he  was  shivering 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  191 

in  his  furs,  whether  from  fear,  embarrassment, 
or  cold,  I  know  not  —  maybe  all  three  together ;  I 
had  placed  a  glass  of  wine  at  his  elbow,  which  he 
sipped  nervously  when  I  pressed  him ;  and  then, 
when  I  knew  that  I  should  hear  what  had  brought 
him,  from  very  cowardliness  I  was  mute.  It 
seemed  to  me  as  if  my  courtesies  embarrassed  him, 
and  that  this  augured  ill,  although  (I  reasoned 
with  myself)  if  she  should  send  me  a  messenger  at 
all,  I  ought  to  anticipate  good  tidings. 

"I  am  fortunate,  sir,"  began  the  old  man  in 
quavering  tones,  "to  find  you  at  home.  Sir,  I 
have  come  a  long  way  to  seek  you.  I  went  first 
to  your  castle  at  Tollendhal,  where  your  steward, 
a  countryman  of  my  own,  to  whose  politeness  I 
am  much  indebted,  gave  me  very  careful  instruc- 
tions as  to  the  road  to  your  English  domicile.  A 
most  worthy  and  amiable  person !  I  should  not 
so  soon  have  had  the  advantage  of  making  your 
acquaintance  had  it  not  been  for  the  help  he  gave 
me.  I  have  come  by  Yarmouth,  sir :  the  wind 
was  all  in  our  favour.  I  am  informed  we  had  a 
good  passage."  Here  he  shivered,  and  a  yet 
greener  shade  underspread  the  scars  upon  his 
brow.  "  But  I  am  not  accustomed  to  the  sea,  and 
I  have  been  ill,  sir,  lately,  very  ill." 

He  coughed  awkwardly,  reached  out  his  trem- 


192  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

bling  hand  for  the  wine,  but  put  down  the  glass 
again  untasted. 

"  Surely  I  am  right  in  believing,"  said  I,  "  that 
you  come  from  some  one  very  dear  to  me  —  from 
one  from  whom  I  am  parted  by  a  series  of  un- 
fortunate misunderstandings?"  I  felt  my  lips 
grow  cold  as  I  spoke,  and  I  know  that  I  panted. 

"  If  you  have  a  letter,"  said  I,  "  give  it  to  me." 

I  reached  out  my  hand,  and  saw,  with  a  strange 
sort  of  self-pity,  that  it  shook  no  less  than  had  the 
old  man's  withered  claw. 

"  Or  if  you  have  a  message,"  cried  I,  breaking 
out  at  last,  "  speak,  for  God's  sake  ! " 

He  drew  back  from  my  impetuosity.  There 
was  fear  of  me  in  his  eye;  at  the  same  time,  I 
thought,  with  a  chill  about  my  heart,  compassion. 

"My  good  sir,"  he  said,  between  "hums"  and 
"ha's"  which  well-nigh  drove  me  distracted,  "I 
believe  I  may  say  —  in  fact,  I  will  venture  to  assert 
that  I  have  come  from  the — ahem,  ahem! — young 
lady  I  apprehend  you  speak  of.  I  have  been  made 
aware  of  the  —  ah,  hum  !  —  unfortunate  circum- 
stances. The  young  lady ."  Here  he  hitched 

himself  up  in  his  chair  and  began  to  fumble  in 
the  skirts  of  his  floating  coat.  Between  his  furs 
and  his  feebleness  this  was  a  sufficiently  lengthy 
operation  to  give  time  for  my  hopes  to  kindle 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  193 

stronger  again  and  my  small  stock  of  patience 
to  fail. 

"  You  are  doubtless  prepared  to  hear,"  he  went 
on  at  length,  "that  the  young  lady,  being  now 
fully  alive  to  the  consequence  of  her  —  her  —  ill- 
considered  conduct  —  a  girlish  freak,  sir,  a  child's, 
I  may  say! — believes  that  she  will  be  meeting 
your  wishes,  nay,  your  express  desire,  by  joining 
with  you  in  an  application  to  his  Holiness  for  the 
immediate  annulment  of  so  irregular  a  marriage." 

"  What  ? "  cried  I  with  a  roar,  leaping  from  my 
chair.  So  occupied  had  I  been  in  watching  the 
movements  of  his  hands  as  he  fingered  a  great 
pocket-book,  expecting  him  every  instant  to  pro- 
duce a  letter  from  her  to  me,  that  I  had  scarce 
heeded  the  drift  of  his  babble  till  the  last  words 
struck  upon  my  ear. 

"  Annul  our  marriage ! "  I  thundered,  "  at  my 
desire!  In  the  devil's  name,  who  are  you,  and 
whence  come  you,  for  it  could  not  be  my  wife  who 
has  sent  you  with  such  a  message  to  me  ? " 

The  little  man  had  jumped,  too,  at  my  violence 
— like  a  grasshopper.  But  my  question  evidently 
touched  his  pride  in  a  sensitive  quarter,  and  roused 
him  to  a  sense  of  offence  in  which  he  forgot  his 
tremors. 

"Truly,  sir,  truly,  you  remind  me,"  he  said 
o 


194  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

tartly.  "If  you  will  have  but  a  little  patience,  I 
was  in  the  very  act  of  seeking  my  credentials  when 
you  so  —  ahem  !  —  impetuously  interrupted  me." 

As  he  spoke,  with  a  skip  and  a  bow,  which 
recalled  I  know  not  what  vague  memory  of  a 
bygone  merry  hour,  he  drew  forth  a  folded  sheet, 
and,  unfolding  it,  presented  it  to  me.  I  knew  the 
handwriting  too  well  to  doubt  its  authenticity. 
How  often  had  I  conned  and  kissed  the  few 
poor  lines  she  had  ever  written  to  me ;  ay,  al- 
though they  had  been  penned  in  her  assumed 
character ! 

"To  M.  DE  JENNICO  — 

"I  empower  M.  de  Schreckendorf  to  act  for  me  in  the 
affair  M.  de  Jennico  wots  of,  and  I  agree  beforehand  to  all 
his  arrangements. 

(Thereto  the  signature.) 

Not  a  word  more;  not  a  word  of  regret,  even 
of  anger!  The  same  implacable,  unbending  re- 
sentment. 

I  stood  staring  at  the  lines,  reading  them  and 
re-reading  them,  and  each  letter  seemed  to  print 
itself  like  fire  upon  my  soul.  I  heard,  as  in  a 
dream,  my  visitor  pour  forth  further  explanations, 
still  in  that  tone  of  injury  my  roughness  had 
evoked. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  195 

"  I  am  myself,  sir,  a  friend.  Yes,  I  may  say  a 
friend,  an  old  friend,  of  the  young  lady.  Her 
parents — ahem! — have  always  reposed  confidence 
in  me.  I,  sir,  am  M.  de  Schreckendorf.  The 
very  fact,  I  should  think,  of  my  being  in  posses- 
sion of  this  letter,  of  this  document  "  — here  there 
was  a  great  rattling  of  stiff  parchment  —  "  will 
assure  you,  I  should  hope,  of  my  identity.  Never- 
theless, if  you  wish  further  proof,  I  have  a  letter 
to  our  ambassador  in  London,  and  I  am  willing  to 
accompany  you  to  his  house,  or  meet  you  there  at 
your  convenience.  Indeed,  it  would  perhaps  be 
more  proper  and  correct,  in  every  way,  that  the 
whole  matter  should  be  settled  and  the  documents 
duly  attested  at  the  residence  of  the  accredited 
representative  of  Lusatia.  I  will  not  disguise  to 
you  that  his  Serene  Highness,  the  Duke  himself, 
takes  —  takes  an  interest  in  the  lady,  and  is  desir- 
ous of  having  this  business,  which  so  nearly  affects 
the  welfare  and  credit  of  a  well-known  member  of 
his  Court,  settled  in  the  promptest  and  most  effi- 
cacious manner.  A  sad  escapade,  you  must  admit 
yourself ! " 

And  all  the  while  my  heart  was  crying  out 
within  me  in  an  agony,  "Oh,  Ottilie,  how  could 
you,  how  could  you  ?  Was  the  memory  of  those 
days  nothing  to  you  ?  Is  the  knowledge  of  my 


196  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

love  and  sorrow  nothing  to  you?  Are  you  a 
woman,  and  have  you  no  forgiveness  ? " 

Taking  perhaps  my  silence  for  acquiescence  (for 
this  messenger  of  my  wife,  albeit  entrusted  with 
so  delicate  a  mission,  was  no  shrewd  diplomatist), 
M.  de  Schreckendorf  here  spread  out  with  an 
agreeable  flourish  an  amazing-looking  Latin  docu- 
ment with  rubrics  ready  filled  up,  it  seemed,  but 
for  certain  spaces  left  blank,  for  the  names,  I  sup- 
pose, of  the  appealing  parties. 

"I  have  been  led  to  understand,"  pursued  he 
then  in  tones  of  greatly  increased  confidence, 
"that  you  entirely  concur  in  the  lady's  desire 
for  the  annulment  of  this  contestable  union,  the 
actual  legality  of  which,  indeed,  is  too  doubtful  to 
be  worth  discussing.  From  the  religious  point  of 
view,  however,  one  of  chief  importance  to  my 
young  friend  (I  think  I  may  call  her  so),  the 
matter  is  otherwise  serious,  for  there  was,  no 
doubt,  a  sacrament  administered  by  a  priest,  duly 
ordained,  but  unfortunately,  through  old  age  and 
natural  infirmity,  wanting  in  due  prudence,  and 
further  misled  as  to  the  identity  of  one  of  the 
contracting  persons.  A  sacrament,  sir,  there  un- 
doubtedly was ;  but  I  am  glad  to  inform  you  that 
special  leading  divines  have  been  already  ap- 
proached upon  the  subject,  and  they  give  good 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  197 

hope,  sir,  good  hope,  that  a  properly  drawn  up 
petition,  supported  by  the  signatures  of  the  two 
persons  concerned,  will  meet  at  Rome  with  most 
favourable  consideration.  The  ecclesiastical  part 
of  the  difficulty  once  settled,  the  legal  one  goes 
of  itself. " 

I  was  gradually  becoming  attentive  to  the  run 
of  his  glib  speech.  I  hardly  know  now  how  I  con- 
tained myself  so  far,  but  I  kept  a  rigid  silence, 
and  for  yet  another  minute  or  two  gave  him  all 
my  ear. 

"  Such  being  the  case,"  he  continued,  "  I  need 
hardly  trouble  you  to  disturb  yourself  by  journey- 
ing all  the  way  to  London.  We  need  proceed  no 
farther  than  Yarmouth,  indeed,  and  there  in  the 
presence  of  two  competent  witnesses  —  I  would 
suggest  a  priest  of  our  religion  and  some  neighbour- 
ing gentleman  of  substance  —  all  you  will  have  to 
do  is  just  to  sign  this  document.  I  repeat,  I  un- 
derstand that  you  are  naturally  anxious  likewise  to 
be  delivered  from  a  marriage  in  which  you  have 
considered  yourself  aggrieved :  and  not  unnatu- 
rally." Here  the  little  monster  threw  a  sly  look  at 
me,  and  added  :  "  You  were  made  the  victim  of  a 
little  deception,  eh  ?  Then  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months  —  Rome  is  always  slow,  you  know  —  you 
will  both  be  as  free  as  air !  With  no  more  loss  to 


198  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

either  of  you  than  the  loss  of  —  ahem  ! — a  little 
inexperience." 

As  free  as  air  !  Ottilie  as  free  as  air  !  Then 
it  was  that  the  violence  of  my  wrath  overflowed. 
That  moment  is  a  blank  to  my  memory.  I  only 
know  that  I  heard  the  sound  of  my  own  voice  ring- 
ing with  shattering  violence  in  the  room,  and  I 
came  to  myself  again  to  find  that,  with  a  strength 
my  fury  alone  could  have  lent,  I  was  shredding  the 
tough  parchment  between  my  fingers,  so  that  the 
ground  was  strewn  with  its  rags.  What  most  re- 
stored me  to  something  like  composure  was  the  ab- 
ject terror  of  the  unlucky  messenger,  who,  huddled 
away  from  me  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  was  peeping 
round  a  chair  at  me,  much  as  you  might  see  a 
monkey  caught  in  mischief.  His  teeth  were  chat- 
tering !  Good  anger  was  wasted  on  so  miserable 
an  object,  and  indeed  the  feelings  that  swayed  me 
had  had  roots  in  ground  such  as  he  could  never 
tread  upon. 

"  Come  out,  M.  de  Schreckendorf,"  I  said,  with  a 
calmness  which  surprised  myself  —  but  there  are 
times  when  a  man's  courage  rises  with  the  very 
magnitude  of  a  calamity  —  "  you  have  nothing  to 
fear  from  me.  You  will  want  an  answer  to  carry 
back  to  her  that  sent  you.  Take  her  this." 

I  stooped  as  I  spoke,  and  gathered  together  the 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  199 

shreds  of  the  document,  folded  them  in  a  great  sheet 
of  paper,  and  tied  it  with  ribbon  into  a  neat  parcel. 

"  Not  a  word,"  I  went  on  ;  "  I  will  hear  no  more ! 
When  you  have  rested  and  partaken  of  refreshment, 
one  of  my  carriages  will  be  at  your  disposal  for 
whatever  point  you  may  desire  to  reach  to-day. 
Stay,  you  will  want  some  evidence  to  show  that 
you  have  fulfilled  your  embassy." 

Sitting  down  to  my  writing-table,  I  hastily  ad- 
dressed the  packet  to  "  Madame  Basil  de  Jennico," 
adding  thereafter  her  distinctive  title  as  maid  of 
honour.  This  done,  I  sealed  it  with  my  great  seal, 
M.  de  Schreckendorf  meanwhile  uttering  uncouth 
little  groans. 

"  Here,  sir,"  said  I,  holding  out  the  packet  with 
its  bold  inscription,  "  they  will  no  longer,  it  is  evi- 
dent, deny  the  existence  at  the  Court  of  Lusatia 
of  the  person  I  have  here  addressed.  Here,  sir. 
Take  this  to  my  wife,  and  tell  her  that  her  hus- 
band has  more  respect  than  she  has  for  the  holy 
sacrament  he  received  with  her.  Here,  sir ! " 

At  every  "Here,  sir,"  I  advanced  a  step  upon 
him,  holding  out  the  bundle,  and  at  every  step  I 
took  he  retreated,  till  impatiently  I  flung  it  on  the 
table  nearest  him,  and  making  him  a  low  ironical 
bow  of  farewell,  turned  to  leave  him. 

I  paused  a  moment   on   the  threshold  of  the 


20O  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

room,  however,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
him,  after  throwing  his  hands  heavenwards,  as  if 
in  despairing  protest,  bring  them  down  again  on 
the  packet  and  proceed  to  stuff  it  into  the  recesses 
of  his  coat. 

I  turned  once  more  to  go,  when  to  my  surprise 
he  called  after  me  in  tones  unexpectedly  stern  and 
loud: 

"Young  man,  young  man,  this  is  a  grave  mis- 
take ;  have  a  care ! " 

I  shrugged  my  shoulders  and  slammed  the  door 
upon  his  warning  cry.  Nor,  though  he  subse- 
quently sent  twice  by  my  servants  —  first  to  de- 
mand, then  to  supplicate,  a  further  interview  — 
would  I  consent  to  parley  with  him  again. 

I  passed  a  couple  of  restless  hours,  until,  at 
length,  from  an  upper  window  I  saw  him  depart 
from  my  house  in  far  greater  state  and  comfort 
than  he  had  come. 

Now,  as  I  write,  I  know  that  he  is  being  whirled 
along  the  Yarmouth  road  at  the  best  pace  of  my 
fine  horses,  speeding  back  to  Lausitz  to  take  my 
wife  my  eloquent  answer. 


CHAPTER  IV 

NARRATIVE  OF  AN  EPISODE  AT  WHITE'S  CLUB,  IN  WHICH 
CAPTAIN  JENNICO  WAS  CONCERNED,  SET  FORTH  FROM 
CONTEMPORARY  ACCOUNTS 

THE  tenth  hour  of  an  October  night  had  rung 
out  over  a  fog-swathed  London ;  yet,  despite  the 
time  of  year,  unfashionable  for  town  life,  despite  the 
unpropitious  weather,  the  long  card-room  at  White's 
was  rapidly  filling.  The  tables,  each  lit  by  its 
own  set  of  candles,  shone  dimly  like  a  little  green 
archipelago  in  a  sea  of  mist.  Groups  were  gather- 
ing round  sundry  of  these  boards ;  the  dice  had 
begun  to  rattle,  voices  to  ring  out.  The  nightly 
scene  was  being  repeated,  wherein  all  were  actors, 
down  to  the  waiters,  who  had  their  private  bets, 
and  lost  and  won  with  their  patrons. 

Somewhat  apart  in  the  seclusion  of  a  window- 
recess,  cosily  ensconced  so  as  to  profit  of  the 
warmth  of  the  great  yellow  fire,  sat  three  gentle- 
men. A  fourth  chair  remained  vacant  at  their 
table ;  and  from  the  impatient  glances  which  two 
of  the  party  now  and  again  turned  upon  the  differ- 
ent doors,  it  was  evident  that  the  arrival  of  its 

901 


2O2  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

expected  occupant  was  overdue.  The  third  gen- 
tleman, who  bore  the  stamp  of  a  distinctly  for- 
eign race,  —  although  his  hair,  which  he  wore  but 
slightly  powdered,  was  of  a  fair  hue,  and  his  face 
rather  sanguine  than  dark,  —  seemed  to  endure  the 
delay  with  complete  indifference.  His  attention 
was  wholly  given  to  the  shuffling  of  a  pack  of 
cards,  which  he  manipulated  with  extreme  dexter- 
ity, while  he  listened  to  his  companions'  remarks 
with  impassive  countenance.  He  was  a  handsome 
man,  despite  a  bulk  of  frame  and  feature  which 
almost  amounted  to  coarseness  ;  hardly  yet  in  the 
prime  of  life,  with  full  blue  eyes  and  full  red  lips; 
which  took,  when  he  spoke  or  smiled,  a  curious 
curve,  baring  the  canine  in  almost  sinister  fash- 
ion. The  Chevalier  de  Ville-Rouge,  introduced  at 
White's  by  the  Prussian  Ambassador,  as  a  distin- 
guished officer  of  the  great  Frederick  visiting 
England  for  his  pleasure,  had  shown  himself  so 
daring  a  player  as  to  be  welcomed  among  the 
most  noted  gamblers.  He  had  lost  and  won  large 
sums  with  great  breeding,  and  had  in  his  six 
weeks'  stay  contrived  to  improve  an  imperfect 
knowledge  of  an  alien  tongue  in  such  fashion  as 
to  make  intercourse  with  his  English  companions 
quite  sufficiently  easy. 

The  youngest  of  the  trio  at  the  table  in  the 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  203 

corner,  this  foggy  night,  was  naturally  the  one  to 
display  his  feelings  most  openly.  A  clean-faced, 
square-built  English  lad,  fresh  it  would  seem  from 
the  playing  fields  of  school,  yet  master  of  his  title 
and  fortune,  and  cornet  in  the  Life  Guards,  Sir 
John  Beddoes  was  already  a  familiar  figure  in  the 
club,  as  indeed  his  finances  could  bear  doleful  tes- 
timony. The  green  cuff-guards  adjusted  over  his 
delicate  ruffles,  the  tablets  and  pencil  ready  at  his 
elbow,  it  was  clear  he  was  itching  to  put  another 
slice  of  his  patrimony  to  the  hazard.  His  opposite 
neighbour,  Beau  Carew  (as  he  dearly  loved  to  hear 
himself  dubbed),  was  a  man  of  another  kidney, 
and  fifteen  years  of  nights,  systematically  turned 
into  days,  had  left  their  stamp  upon  features  once 
noted  for  their  beauty.  Though  ready  now  with  a 
sneer  or  jest  for  his  companion's  youthful  eager- 
ness, his  eyes  wandering  restlessly  from  the  clock 
to  the  doors  betrayed  an  almost  equal  anxiety  to 
begin  the  business  of  the  evening. 

"Devil  take  Jennico  !"  cried  the  Baronet  at  last, 
striking  the  table  so  that  the  dice  leaped  in  their 
box ;  "  'pon  my  soul  it's  too  bad  !  He  gave  me  an 
appointment  here  at  ten  to-night,  and  it  wants 
now  but  six  minutes  to  eleven." 

"  Bet  he  comes  before  the  clock  strikes,"  inter- 
posed Mr.  Carew ;  "  ten  guineas  ?  " 


2O4  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

"Done  with  you,  Dick,"  said  Sir  John  promptly. 

The  bet  was  registered,  and  five  minutes  passed 
in  watching  the  timepiece  on  the  mantel-shelf :  all 
the  young  Baronet's  eagerness  being  now  against 
the  event  he  had  been  burning  to  hasten.  The 
strokes  rang  out.  With  a  smile  he  held  out  his 
broad  palm,  into  which  Carew  duly  dropped  ten 
pieces. 

"  'Tis  the  first  bit  of  luck  the  fellow  has  brought 
me  yet.  Gad,  I  believe  my  luck  has  turned ! 
Why  the  devil  don't  he  come,  that  I  may  ease  him 
of  a  little  of  that  superfluous  wealth  of  his  ?  I 
swear  he  gets  more  swollen  day  by  day,  while  we 
grow  lean  —  eh,  Carew?  —  like  the  kine  in  the 
Bible.  D him  ! " 

"The  water  goes  to  the  river,  as  the  French 
say,  in  spite  of  all  our  dams,"  sniggered  Carew ; 
"  but  as  for  me  I  am  content  that  you  should  go 
on  playing  with  Jennico  so  that  I  may  back  him ; 
my  purse  has  not  been  in  such  good  condition  for 
many  a  long  day.  Poor  devil !  How  monstrous 
unfortunate  his  amours  must  still  be !  I  only 
wish,"  with  a  conscious  wriggle,  "he  could  give 
me  the  recipe." 

"Yet  you  have  lost  on  him  now,"  retorted 
Beddoes,  tapping  his  breast  pocket,  "and  if  you 
back  him  to-night,  you  lose  on  him  again,  I  warn 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  205 

you.  I  am  in  the  vein,  I  tell  ye !  But  there  is 
the  quarter !  Rot  him,  I  believe  he  is  going  to 
rat  after  all !  Bet  you  he  don't  come  till  half-past, 
Carew.  Fifty  ? " 

"Done,"  said  Carew  quietly,  noting  down  the 
entry.  "He  is  erratic,  I  grant  you  —  he,  he,  he! 
—  did  you  note  me,  Chevalier?  But  he  has  a 
taste  for  the  table,  though  I  believe  he'd  as  soon 
lose  as  win,  were  it  only  for  the  sake  of  change. 
'Tis  about  all  he  cares  for  —  the  dullest  dog ! 
Bet  you  there  is  not  a  man  in  the  room  has  heard 
him  laugh." 

"You  won't  find  any  fool  to  take  up  that  betr 
Carew.  Heigh-ho !  I'd  willingly  accommodate 
myself  with  a  little  of  his  melancholy  at  the  price.'" 

"Better  look  up  a  princess  for  yourself  then, 
Jack,"  said  Carew;  "perhaps  the  Chevalier  here 
can  give  you  an  introduction  to  some  other  fasci- 
nating German  Highness." 

"  Won't  it  do  over  here  ? "  asked  Beddoes,  with 
a  grin.  "  D'ye  think  I'd  have  a  chance  with  Au- 
gusta ?  Twenty  past !  Let  him  keep  away  till 
the  half-hour  now.  Zounds  !  'twould  be  a  mean 
trick  if  he  failed  me  on  my  lucky  night ;  though 
I  don't  want  him  for  ten  minutes  yet.  He  has 
fairly  cleared  me  out ;  the  team  will  have  to  go 
next  if  I  don't  get  back  some  of  my  I  O  U's." 


2O6  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

"  Why,  it  would  be  a  very  good  thing  for  thee, 
Jack,  if  he  played  thee  false.  I  say  so  though  I 
should  lose  most  damnably  by  it.  Thy  team  will 
go,  thy  coaches  will  go,  thy  carts,  thy  grooms,  thy 
dog,  thy  cat.  Why,  man,  thou  must  lose  —  'tis  as 
plain  as  the  nose  on  Lady  Maria's  face.  And  he 
must  win,  poor  wretch,  and  I  too,  since  I  back 
him.  Ask  the  Chevalier  if  it  is  not  a  text  of 
truth  all  the  world  over:  lucky  at  cards,  unlucky 
in  love.  Never  look  so  sulky,  boy;  'tis  provi- 
dential compensation." 

"  You  surprise  me,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Cheva- 
lier, with  a  strong  guttural  accent,  lifting  as  he 
spoke  his  heavy  lids  for  the  first  time.  "I  was 
not  aware  that  Captain  Jennico  was  so  afflicted  in 
his  affections." 

"You  surprise  me,  Chevalier,"  returned  Carew 
gaily.  "  I  deemed  you  and  he  such  friends.  Why, 
I  won  a  hundred  from  my  Lord  Ullswater  but 
yestereven  by  wagering  him  that  you  would  be 
the  only  man  in  the  room  to  whom  Jennico  would 
speak  more  than  ten  words  within  the  hour.  The 
counting  was  not  difficult.  He  said  sixty-four  to 
you  and  five  to  Jack." 

"Mr.  Jennico  has  certainly  shown  me  both  kind- 
ness and  sympathy,"  said  the  Chevalier,  who  had 
now  folded  his  strong  white  hands  over  the  pack 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  207 

of  cards,  and  sat  the  very  embodiment  of  repose. 
"Doubtless  our  having  both  served  in  the  same 
part  of  the  world,  though  under  different  stand- 
ards, has  somewhat  drawn  us  together :  but  he 
has  not  made  me  his  confidant." 

"And  so  you  don't  know  the  tale  of  Jennico 
and  the  Princess  ?  'Tis  a  dashed  fine  tale.  Carew, 
you  are  a  wit,  or  think  you  are  —  it  comes  to 
much  the  same  thing  :  tune  up,  man,  give  your 
version ;  for,"  turning  to  the  Chevalier  again, 
"  there  are  now  as  many  versions  current  as  days 
in  the  month.  'Tis  twenty-five  minutes  past ; 
you  had  better  get  your  I  O  U  ready,  Master 
Carew." 

"  I  have  three  hundred  chances  yet,"  said  Carew. 
Then  turning  to  the  foreigner,  "  Would  you  really, 
sir,  care  to  hear  the  true  story  of  our  friend's  dis- 
comfiture ?  I  am  about  the  only  man  in  town  that 
knows  the  true  one ;  but  all  that's  old  scandal  now 
—  town  talk  of  last  year,  as  stale  as  Lady  Villiers's 
nine  virgin  daughters.  There  are  a  dozen  new 
ones  since.  Would  you  not  rather  hear  the  last 
of  his  Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  C.  and  Lady 
W.  ?  That  is  choice  if  you  like,  and  as  fresh  as 
Rosalinda's  last  admirer  —  eh,  John?" 

"  I  am  not  fond,"  said  the  Chevalier  drily,  "  of 
hearing  those  discussed  who,  being  High  Born, 


208  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

have  the  right  to  claim  respect  and  homage. 
But  I  confess  to  some  interest  in  my  friend  Mr. 
Jennico." 

"  Begad,  then,"  responded  Mr.  Carew,  flicking 
a  grain  of  snuff  from  the  ruffles  of  his  pouting 
bosom,  "I  cannot  promise  to  spare  your  scruples 
concerning  scandal  in  high  quarters,  for  the  hero- 
ine of  the  romance  is,  it  would  appear,  one  of  your 
own  German  royalties ;  but  since  you  wish  the 
story,  you  shall  have  it.  There  is  then  a  certain 
Dorothea  Maria  Augusta  Carolina  Sophia,  etc., 
etc.,  daughter  of  some  Duke  of  Alsatia,  Swabia, 
Dalmatia  —  no,  stay,  Lusatia,  wherever  that  may 
be ;  ay,  that's  the  name  —  one  of  your  two  hun- 
dred odd  principalities  —  you  know  all  about  it,  I 
don't  —  and  Jennico,  who,  as  you  are  aware,  was 
in  the  Imperial  service,  met  this  wondrously  beau- 
tiful Princess  at  some  Court  function  somewhere. 
They  danced,  they  conversed,  she  was  fair  and 
he  was  fond  —  fill  it  in  for  yourself.  He  thought 
himself  a  tremendous  cock  of  the  walk ;  to  be 
brief,  he  aspired  to  act  King  Cophetua  and  the 
beggar  maid,  turned  the  other  way,  with  the  ex- 
ception that  he  is  as  rich  as  Croesus.  He  made 
so  sure  of  the  lady's  favour  that  he  wrote  over  to 
his  mother  to  announce  the  marriage  as  a  settled 
thing.  A  royal  alliance,  with  the  prospect  of 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  209 

speedily  mounting  to  the  throne  on  the  strength 
of  his  wife's  pretensions  !  Ha,  ha  !  " 

"  "Tis  a  droll  story,"  said  the  Chevalier  gravely ; 
"  and  then  ? " 

"  Oh,  then  !  —  Zounds  !  you  can  conceive  the 
flutter  in  the  dovecot  over  him.  My  Lady  Jen- 
nico, his  mother,  was  blown  out  with  pride,  swim- 
ming in  the  higher  regions,  a  perfect  balloon ! 
Gad,  she  would  no  longer  bow  to  any  one  less  than 
a  Duke !  She  ran  hither  and  thither  cackling  the 
news  like  the  hen  that  has  laid  an  egg.  She  sent 
—  I  was  told  on  the  best  authority  —  to  the  Lord 
Chamberlain  to  know  what  precedence  the  young 
couple  would  be  given  at  the  next  Birthday.  She 
called  at  the  College  of  Arms  to  inquire  about  the 
exact  marshalling  of  the  coat  of  Lusatia  with  that 
of  Jennico.  He,  he !  And  whether  the  resultant 
monstrosity  would  comport  a  royal  crown  !  " 

"  Faith,  that's  a  good  one,"  said  Sir  John,  with 
a  guffaw  ;  "  I  had  not  heard  that,  Carew." 

"  Fact,  fact,  I  assure  you,"  smiled  the  wit. 

"Very  droll,"  repeated  M.  de  Ville-Rouge,  with 
impassive  muscles. 

"When,"  continued  Carew,  "lo  and  behold, 
what  a  falling  off  was  there,  as  young  Roscius 
says !  What  a  come  down !  Humpty-Dumpty 
was  nothing  to  it  —  poor  Lady  Jennico's  egg ! 


2io  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

Ah !  well,  we  all  know  pride  must  have  a  fall. 
Your  fair  compatriot,  sir,  had  but  amused  herself 
with  the  fine  Englishman,  for  which  I  would  be 
loath  to  blame  her.  She  gave  him,  it  is  said, 
indeed,  every  pledge  of  her  affection.  But  when 
he  began  to  prate  of  rings  and  marriage  lines,  and 
pressed  her  to  become  Mrs.  Jennico,  she  found 
him  a  little  too  presumptuous  —  at  least,  I  take  it 
so;  and  being,  it  would  seem,  of  a  merry  turn  of 
mind,  devised  a  little  joke  to  play  upon  him. 
Pretending  to  yield  at  last  to  his  urgency,  she 
gave  her  consent  to  a  secret  marriage,  and  in  the 
dark  chapel  palmed  off  her  chambermaid  upon 
him !  Ha,  ha !  So  the  poor  devil,  carrying  off 
his  bride  by  night  in  high  glee,  thinking  himself 
a  very  fine  fellow  indeed,  never  discovered  till  he 
had  brought  her  home  that  he  had  given  his  hand 
and  name  to  a  squinting,  sausage-nosed,  carroty 
maid,  daughter  of  the  Court  confectioner,  called 
in  baptism  by  the  Princess's  names,  like  half  the 
girls  in  the  town.  The  story  goes  that  the  Prin- 
cess with  all  the  Court  were  waiting  at  his  house 
to  see  the  happy  pair  arrive,  and  I  have  had 
secret,  but  absolutely  incontestable,  information 
that  the  Princess  laughed  till  she  had  to  be  bled." 
M.  de  Ville-Rouge  smiled  at  last  in  evident 
appreciation  of  the  humour  of  the  situation. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  211 

"It  is,  on  my  honour,  a  most  comic  story,"  he 
said.  "  But  how  come  you  so  well  acquainted 
with  the  matter  ?  Surely  my  poor  friend  Jennico 
has  ill-chosen  his  confidant." 

"  Devil  a  word  have  I  heard  from  Jennico,"  said 
Carew.  "  Faith,  he  has  ever  been  the  same  cheer- 
ful, conversational  fellow  you  wot  of,  and  it  would 
take  a  bold  man  to  question  him.  But  truth,  you 
know,  will  out  —  truth  will  out  in  time." 

"  Ay,"  said  the  Chevalier,  and  was  shaken  with 
silent  merriment. 

"Half-past  eleven,"  roared  the  Baronet,  sud- 
denly, stretching  out  a  great  paw  and  snapping 
his  fingers  under  the  beau's  face. 

"  Zounds  ! "  cried  the  wit,  turning  to  look  at  the 
clock  with  some  discomposure;  "no,  Jack,  no, 
there  is  still  a  fraction  of  a  minute  —  the  half -hour 
has  not  struck.  And,  by  Heaven,  here's  our  man ! 
Had  you  not  better  sup  with  Rosalinda  to-night  ? " 

Sir  John,  in  the  act  of  looking  round  pettishly — 
he  had  not  yet  reached  that  enviable  state  of  mind 
in  which  a  gambler  declares  that  the  greatest 
delight  after  winning  is  that  of  losing  —  found  his 
attention  unexpectedly  arrested  by  the  counte- 
nance of  the  Chevalier  de  Ville-Rouge,  which  pre- 
sented at  that  moment  such  an  extraordinary 
appearance  that  the  young  man  forgot  his  irrita- 


212  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

tion,  and  remained  gazing  at  it  in  open-mouthed 
astonishment. 

The  features,  usually  remarkable  for  their  set, 
rather  heavy  composure,  were  perturbed  to  the 
verge  of  distortion.  The  whole  face  was  stained 
with  angry  purple,  the  veins  of  the  forehead  swol- 
len like  whipcord. 

Sir  John  Beddoes's  wits  were  none  of  the  sharp- 
est, but  it  was  clear  even  to  him  that  the  emotion 
thus  expressed  was  one  of  furious  disappointment. 

But  while  he  cudgelled  his  brains  for  an  expla- 
nation of  this  sudden  humour  in  a  man  who  was 
neither  winner  nor  loser  by  Basil  Jennico's  ap- 
pearance, the  face  of  the  Chevalier  resumed  its 
wonted  indifferent  expression  and  dulness  of  hue 
with  a  rapidity  that  altogether  confounded  the 
observer. 

By  this  time  the  tall  figure  of  the  new-comer 
had  wended  its  way  down  the  room  and  was  close 
upon  them.  All  turned  to  greet  him,  and  poor 
Sir  John  found  his  feelings  once  more  subjected 
to  a  shock. 

The  acquaintances  of  Basil  Jennico  were  accus- 
tomed to  find  his  brow  charged  with  gloom,  to  see 
his  cheek  wear  the  pallor  of  one  who  sleeps  little 
and  thinks  much.  But  in  his  demeanour  to-night 
was  more  than  the  usual  sombreness,  on  his  coun- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  213 

tenance  other  than  natural  pallor.  As  he  stood 
for  a  moment  responding  absently  to  the  Cheva- 
lier's hearty  greeting,  and  Carew's  bantering  salu- 
tation of  "  All  hail ! "  it  became  further  apparent 
that  his  dress  was  disordered,  that  his  ruffles  were 
torn  and  blood-stained,  that  his  brocade  jacket 
was  jaggedly  rent  upon  the  left  side,  and  also 
ominously  stained  here  and  there. 

"Gadzooks,  man ! "  exclaimed  Carew,  his  bleared 
grey  eyes  lighting  at  the  prospect  of  a  new  whole- 
sale scandal  for  his  little  retail  shop.  "  What  has 
happened  thee  ?  Wounded  ?  How  ?  Ah,  best 
not  inquire  perhaps !  Beddoes,  lad,  see  you  he 
has  got  reasons  for  his  delay.  Who  knows  but 
that  you  may  have  a  chance  to-night  after  all.  A 
deadly  dig,  well  aimed  under  the  fifth  rib,  a  true 
Benedick's  pinking  ;  or  shall  we  say  goring  ?  — 
ahem !  Have  a  care,  Jennico,  these  wounds  from 
horned  beasts  are  reputed  ill  to  heal.  Ah,  sad  dog, 
sad  dog !  I  will  warrant  thou  hast  had  the  balance 
nevertheless  to  thy  credit.  Now  do  I  remember 
a  little  lady  was  casting  very  curious  looks  at  you 
at  Almack's  last  night." 

Basil  had  flung  himself  into  the  chair  that  had 
so  long  awaited  him,  and  seemed  to  lend  but  a 
half-apprehending  ear  to  the  prattler  on  his  left, 
who,  as  he  leant  towards  him,  was  hardly  able  to 


214  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

restrain  his  eager  hand  from  fingering  the  hurt 
so  unmistakably  evidenced.  On  the  right  the 
Chevalier  as  unsuccessfully  pressed  him  with 
earnest  queries,  manifesting,  it  would  seem,  a 
genuine  anxiety. 

"  Great  God,  my  friend  !  what  has  happened  ?  " 

The  stentorian  tones  of  Sir  John  Beddoes,  who 
saw  an  opportunity  of  retrieving  his  fortunes,  here 
broke  in  hastily  upon  Carew's  flow  of  words  :  "  Bet 
you  double  or  quits  it  was  not  Lady  Sue,"  and 
aroused  Mr.  Jennico's  attention. 

"I  should  be  loath  to  spoil  sport,"  he  said,  "but 
I  advise  no  one  to  bet  on  my  bonnes  fortunes. 
This  scratch  —  for  it  is  nothing  more,  Mr.  Carew, 
and  I  would  show  it  to  you  with  pleasure  in  reward 
for  your  flattering  interest,  but  the  surgeon  has 
just  bound  it  up  very  neatly,  and  it  would  be 
a  pity  to  disturb  his  handiwork  —  is  but  the  sixth 
of  a  series  of  attempts  on  my  life,  made  within  the 
last  six  weeks,  by  persons  unknown,  for  purposes 
likewise  unknown." 

"  Dash  it,  Jennico,  you  might  have  let  me  enter 
the  bet,"  said  the  Baronet  sulkily,  while  Carew, 
sniffing  a  choicer  titbit  of  gossip  than  he  had 
expected,  wriggled  with  pleasure,  and  the  Chevalier 
expressed  unbounded  amazement  that  such  a  state 
of  things  could  exist,  above  all  in  England. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  215 

"  It  is  even  so,"  resumed  Basil,  turning  to  the 
last  speaker  as  if  glad  to  give  vent  to  some  of  his 
pent-up  irritation.  "  I  confess  that  when  I  re- 
turned to  my  native  land  I  did  expect  to  find  at 
least  a  quiet  life.  Why,  in  my  house  at  Tollendhal, 
where  those  who  surrounded  me  were  half  sav- 
ages, ruled  by  the  stick  and  the  halter,  where 
it  was  deemed  imprudent  for  the  master  to  walk 
the  roads  without  his  body-guard,  there  was  never 
so  much  as  a  stone  thrown  after  me.  But  here, 
in  old  England,  my  life,  I  believe,  would  not  be 
worth  backing  for  a  week."  He  looked  round 
with  a  smile  in  which  melancholy  and  disdain  were 
blended. 

"  Now,  d me !  "  cried  Sir  John,  struck  in 

his  easy  good  nature  into  sudden  warmth  and 

sympathy,  "  nay,  now  d me,  Jennico !  I  will 

take  any  man  a  hundred  guineas  that  you  are  alive 
this  day  month." 

"  Done ! "  said  the  Chevalier,  with  such  un- 
expected energy  that  all  three  turned  round  to 
look  at  him  with  surprise ;  perceiving  which  he 
went  on,  laughing  to  conceal  an  evident  embar- 
rassment: "Your  betting  habits  here  are  infec- 
tious, but  while  I  will  not  withdraw,  I  am  prepared 
to  be  glad  to  lose  rather  than  gain  for  once."  He 
fixed  Basil  across  the  table  with  his  brooding  eye 


216  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

as  he  spoke,  and  bowed  to  him,  then  turned  to  the 
Baronet.  "  No,  Sir  Beddoes,  I  am  not  going  to 
recede  from  the  wager." 

This,  as  a  wager  worth  recording,  was  forthwith 
entered  into  the  club  book.  Basil  looked  on,  half 
in  amusement,  half  in  bitterness. 

"'Tis  likely,  after  all,"  he  said,  addressing  Sir 
John,  "  that  you  may  win  and  that  the  Chevalier 
may  be  afforded  the  pleasure  of  losing,  for  I  seem 
to  bear  a  charmed  life.  Perhaps,"  he  added  with 
a  sigh,  "because  I  care  so  little  for  it.  Though 
to  be  sure  there  is  something  galling  to  a  man  hi 
being  shot  at  from  behind  a  hedge  and  set  on  in 
the  dark ;  in  not  knowing  where  the  murderer  may 
be  lying  in  wait  for  him,  at  what  street  corner,  at 
what  turn  of  the  road,  behind  what  hayrick.  If  I 
have  not  kept  my  appointment  over  punctually 
to-night,  it  is  because  a  rogue  has  had  me  by  the 
Park  gateway  in  Piccadilly.  There  is  more  here 
than  mere  accidental  villainy.  The  next  will  be 
that  I  shall  see  murder  in  my  own  servant's  eyes. 
Or,  who  knows,  find  it  lying  at  the  bottom  of  my 
cup.  Pah !  I  am  as  bold  as  most  men ;  I  would 
welcome  death  more  readily  than  most;  but,  by 
Heaven !  it  is  unfair  treatment,  and  I  have  had 
more  than  my  share  of  it." 

"  Why,  Jennico,"  said  Carew,  "  you  never  spoke 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  217 

a  word  of  this  before.  A  fellow  has  no  right  to 
keep  such  doings  dark.  Tell  us  the  details." 

"Ay,  tell  us  all  about  it,"  said  Sir  John,  with 
round  eyes  ready  to  start  from  their  orbits. 

"True,"  said  Basil,  "you  have  now  an  interest, 
Jack,  in  knowing  what  sort  of  odds  are  against 
you.  Well,  you  shall  learn  all  you  wish ;  but  let 
us  to  supper,  gentlemen,  meanwhile,  that  we  may 
lose  no  further  time  and  start  better  fortified  upon 
the  evening's  business,  if  Beddoes  is  still  anxious 
for  his  revenge." 


CHAPTER  V 
NARRATIVE  OF  AN  EPISODE  AT  WHITE'S  CONTINUED 

IT  was  over  a  dish  of  devilled  kidneys  and  a 
couple  of  bottles  of  Burgundy  that  —  pressed  by 
the  eager  curiosity  of  his  English  friends,  no  less 
than  by  the  interest  M.  de  Ville-Rouge  continued 
to  profess  in  his  concerns  with  all  Teutonic  earnest- 
ness—  Basil  Jennico  began  to  narrate  his  misad- 
ventures in  the  same  tone  of  ironical  resentment 
with  which  he  had  already  alluded  to  them. 

"It  began  at  Farringdon  Dane,"  he  said,  "on 
the  little  property  in  Suffolk  which  my  mother 
has  placed  at  my  disposal.  'Twas  some  six  weeks 
gone,  walking  through  the  wood  at  sundown,  I 
was  shot  at  from  behind  a  tree.  The  charge 
passed  within  an  inch  of  my  face,  to  embed  itself 
in  a  sapling  behind  me.  I  was,  according  to  my 
wont  —  an  evil  habit  —  deeply  absorbed  in  thought, 
and  was  alone ;  consequently,  although  I  searched 
the  copse  from  end  to  end,  I  could  find  no  trace 
of  my  well-wisher.  That  was  number  one.  I 
gave  very  little  heed  to  the  occurrence  at  first, 

218 


The  Pride  of  Jennie o  219 

believing  it  to  be  some  poacher's  trick,  or  maybe 
the  unwitting  act  of  what  you  call  in  your  country, 
Chevalier,  a  Sunday  sportsman,  who  mistook  my 
brown  beaver  for  the  hide  of  a  nobler  quarry. 
But  the  next  attempt  gave  me  more  serious  food 
for  reflection.  This  time  I  was  shot  at  while  sit- 
ting reading  in  my  study  at  night,  when  all  the 
household  had  retired.  It  was  close  weather,  and 
I  had  drawn  the  curtains  and  opened  the  windows. 
The  bullet  again  whizzed  by  my  ear,  and  this  time 
shattered  the  lamp  beside  me.  No  doubt  the  total 
darkness  which  ensued  saved  me  from  a  second 
and  better  aim." 

"You  are  a  fortunate  young  man,"  said  the 
Chevalier  gravely. 

"  Do  you  think  so,  Chevalier  ? "  answered  Jen- 
nico,  with  a  smile  which  all  the  bitterness  of  his 
thoughts  could  not  altogether  rob  of  sweetness.  "  I 
do  not  think  any  one  need  envy  my  fate.  Well, 
gentlemen,  you  can  conceive  the  uproar  which 
ensued  upon  the  event  I  have  just  described.  The 
best  efforts  of  myself,  my  servants,  and  my  dogs 
failed,  however,  to  track  the  fugitive,  although  the 
marks  of  what  seemed  a  very  neat  pair  of  shoes 
were  imprinted  on  my  mother's  most  choice  flower- 
beds. After  this  adventure  I  received  a  couple 
more  of  such  tokens  of  good-will  in  the  country. 


220  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

Once  I  was  shot  at  crossing  a  ford  in  full  daylight, 
and  my  poor  nag  was  struck ;  this  time  I  did  catch 
a  glimpse  of  the  scoundrel,  but  he  was  mounted 
too,  and  poor  Bess,  though  she  did  her  utmost, 
fell  dead  after  the  first  twenty  strides  in  pursuit. 
Thereupon  my  mother  grew  so  morbidly  nervous, 
and  the  mystery  resisting  all  our  attempts  at  elu- 
cidation, I  gave  way  to  her  entreaties  and  returned 
to  London,  where  she  deemed  I  would  find  myself 
in  greater  safety." 

"  And  has  your  friend  followed  you  up  here  ? " 
exclaimed  Sir  John,  forgetting  his  supper  in  his 
interest.  "  By  George,  this  is  a  good  story ! " 

"  I  was  stopped  on  the  road  by  a  highwayman," 
answered  Mr.  Jennico  quietly.  "  Nothing  unusual 
in  that,  you  will  say ;  but  there  was  something  a 
little  out  of  the  common  nevertheless  in  the  fact 
that  he  fired  his  pistol  at  me  without  the  formality 
of  bidding  me  stand  and  deliver ;  which  formality, 
I  believe,  is  according  to  the  etiquette  of  the  road. 
I  am  glad  to  tell  you  that  I  think  we  left  our  mark 
on  the  gentleman  this  time,  for  as  he  rode  away 
he  bent  over  his  saddle,  we  thought,  like  one  who 
will  not  ride  very  far.  But,  faith !  the  brood  is 
not  extirpated,  and  the  worthy  folk  who  display 
such  an  interest  in  me,  finding  hot  lead  so  unsuc- 
cessful, have  now  taken  to  cold  steel." 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  221 

Sir  John  Beddoes  damned  his  immortal  soul 
with  great  fervour. 

"Pray,  sir,"  remarked  Mr.  Carew  with  an  in- 
sinuating smile,  "may  not  the  identity  of  the 
murderer  be  of  easier  solution  than  you  deem? 
Are  there  no  heirs  to  your  money  ? " 

"  I  might  pretend  to  misunderstand  you,  Mr. 
Carew,"  said  Basil,  flushing,  "  although  your  mean- 
ing is  plain.  Permit  me  to  say,  however,  that  I 
fail  to  find  a  point  to  the  jest." 

"  'Twas  hardly  likely  you  would  find  humour  in 
a  point  so  inconveniently  aimed  against  yourself," 
answered  Carew  airily.  "  But  'tis  a  rarity,  Jen- 
nico, to  find  a  man  ready  to  take  up  the  cudgels 
for  his  heirs  and  successors.  Nevertheless,  I 
crave  your  pardon,  the  more  so  because  I  am 
fain  to  know  what  befell  you  to-night." 

"To-night  was  an  ill  night  to  choose  for  so 
evil  an  attempt,"  said  the  Chevalier,  rousing 
himself  from  a  fit  of  musing  and  looking  reflec- 
tively round  upon  the  fog,  which  hung  ever 
closer  even  in  the  warm  and  well-lit  room. 

"It  was  the  very  night  for  their  purpose,  my 
dear  Chevalier,"  returned  the  young  man  with 
artificial  gaiety.  "  Faith,  it  was  like  to  have  suc- 
ceeded with  them,  and  I  make  sure  mine  enemy, 
whoever  he  may  be,  is  pluming  himself  even  now 


222  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

upon  the  world  well  rid  of  my  cumbersome  exist- 
ence.  I  was  on  foot,  too,  and  what  with  the  dark- 
ness and  emptiness  of  the  streets  I  was,  I  may  say, 
delivered  into  their  hands.  But  they  are  sad  bun- 
glers. One  of  my  pretty  fellows  in  Moravia  would 
have  done  such  a  job  for  me,  were  I  in  the  way  to 
require  it,  as  cleanly  and  with  as  little  ado  as  you 
pick  your  first  pheasant  in  October,  Jack.  And 
yet  it  may  be  that  I  am  providentially  preserved  — 
preserved  for  a  better  fate."  Here  he  tossed  off 
his  glass  as  if  to  a  silent  toast. 

"  But  why  on  foot,  my  dear  Jennico  ?  On  foot 
—  fie,  fie,  and  in  this  weather!  What  could  you 
expect? "  cried  Carew  with  a  shiver  of  horror. 

"If  you  were  not  so  fond  of  interruption,  Mr. 
Carew,"  said  the  Chevalier  with  a  sinister  smile, 
"  perhaps  we  might  sooner  get  to  the  end  of  Mr. 
Jennico's  story.  We  are  all  eagerness  to  hear 
about  this  last  miraculous  preservation." 

"  I  hardly  know  myself  how  I  come  to  be  alive ! 
I  could  get  no  sedan,  my  dear  Carew,  and  that 
was  just  the  rub.  What  with  Lady  Bedford's 
card-party  and  the  fog,  there  was  not  one  to  be 
had  within  a  mile,  and  I  had  given  my  stablemen 
a  holiday.  I  sent  my  servant  upon  the  quest  for 
a  chair,  but  got  tired  of  waiting,  mindful  of  my 
appointment  with  my  friend  and  neighbour  here, 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  223 

and  so  it  was  that  I  set  forth,  as  I  said,  on  foot 
and  alone.  The  mist  was  none  so  thick  but  that 
I  could  find  my  way,  and  I  was  pursuing  it  at  a 
round  pace  when,  opposite  Devonshire  House, 
some  fellow  bearing  a  link  crossed  from  over  the 
road,  came  straight  upon  me  without  a  word, 
raised  his  torch,  and  peered  intently  into  my  face. 
I  halted,  but  before  I  could  demand  the  meaning 
of  his  insolence  down  went  his  fire-brand  fizzing 
into  the  mud,  out  came  his  sword,  and  I  was 
struck  with  such  extreme  violence  that,  in  the 
very  attempt  to  recover  my  balance,  I  fell  back- 
wards all  my  length  upon  the  pavement,  skewered 
like  a  chicken,  and  carrying  the  skewer  with  me. 
Some  gentlemen  happened  to  reach  the  spot  at 
that  moment,  there  was  a  cry  for  the  watch,  but 
the  rogue  had  made  good  use  of  his  heels  and 
the  fog,  and  was  out  of  sight  and  hearing  in  a 
moment." 

"  Verdammt  villain !  "  cried  M.  de  Ville-Rouge, 
whose  brow  had  grown  ever  blacker  during  this 
account.  "  Say,  my  amiable  friend,  did  you  not 
get  even  a  lunge  at  him  ? " 

"  Lunge,  man  !  I  was  skewered,  I  tell  you ;  I 
could  not  even  draw !  His  sword  —  'twas  as  sharp 
as  a  razor,  a  fine  sword,  I  have  had  it  brought  to 
my  chambers  —  had  gone  clean  through  innumer- 


224  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

able  folds  of  cloak  and  cape,  back  and  front,  only 
to  graze  my  ribs  after  all.  It  was  bent  double  by 
the  fall,  and  it  took  the  strength  of  the  watch- 
man and  the  two  gentlemen  to  draw  it  out  again. 
By  George!  they  thought  I  was  spitted  beyond 
hope." 

"A  foul  affair  altogether,"  murmured  Carew 
absently;  but  the  sorry  jest  was  lost  in  the  stri- 
dent tones  of  the  Chevalier,  who  now  anxiously 
plied  Basil  as  to  the  surgeon's  opinion  of  the 
wound,  and  expressed  himself  relieved  beyond 
measure  by  the  reply. 

At  this  juncture  Sir  John  Beddoes,  who  had 
drunk  enough  to  inflame  his  gambler's  ardour  to 
boisterous  pitch,  began  to  clamour  for  his  prom- 
ised revenge,  and  the  whole  party  once  more 
adjourned  to  the  card-room. 

In  his  heart,  Basil  Jennico  would  have  been 
genuinely  glad  to  be  unsuccessful  at  the  hazard 
that  night;  partly  from  a  good-natured  dislike  to 
be  the  cause  of  the  foolish  young  man's  complete 
ruin,  partly  from  a  more  personal  feeling  of  super- 
stition. But  the  luck  ran  as  persistently  in  his 
favour  as  ever. 

Carew,  with  drawn  tablets,  began  loudly  to  back 
the  winner,  challenging  all  his  acquaintance  to 
wager  against  him.  But  although  the  high  play 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  225 

and  Sir  John's  increasing  excitement  and  restless- 
ness, as  well  as  the  extraordinary  good  fortune 
which  cleaved  to  Jennico,  soon  attracted  a  circle 
of  watchers,  men  were  chary  of  courting  what 
seemed  certain  loss,  and  Carew  found  his  easy 
gains  not  likely  further  to  accrue. 

Suddenly  the  Chevalier,  who,  with  his  cheek 
resting  upon  his  hand,  had  seemed  plunged  in 
deep  reflection  ever  since  they  had  left  the  supper- 
room,  rose,  and  with  an  air  of  geniality  which  sat 
awkwardly  enough  upon  him,  cried  out  to  the  sur- 
prise of  all  —  for  he  had  not  been  wont  to  back 
any  player  in  the  club : 

"And  there  is  really  no  one  to  side  with  my 
good  friend  Beddoes  to-night?  Why  then,  Mr. 
Carew,  I  will  be  the  man.  Thunder-weather, 
Beddoes,"  clapping  him  on  the  shoulder — "I 
believe  the  luck  will  turn  yet;  so  brave  a  heart 
must  needs  force  fortune !  What  shall  it  be,  Mr. 
Carew  ?  Something  substantial  to  encourage  our 
friend." 

Jennico  looked  down  at  the  pile  of  vouchers 
which  lay  at  his  elbow.  It  amounted  already  to 
a  terrible  sum.  Then  he  looked  across  at  the 
boy's  face,  drawn,  almost  haggard  in  spite  of  its 
youth  and  chubbiness,  and  sighed  impatiently. 
He  could  not  advise  the  fool  to  go  home  to  bed ; 
Q 


226  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

yet  for  himself  he  was  heartily  sick  of  these 
winnings.  The  dice  were  thrown  again,  Sir 
John's  hand  trembling  like  a  leaf ;  and  again 
Basil  won,  and  again  vouchers  were  added  to  the 
heap. 

M.  de  Ville-Rouge  threw  a  dark  glance  at  the 
winner  as  he  stepped  up  to  Carew  to  settle  his 
own  debt. 

"You  should  not  have  backed  me,"  said  Sir 
John  ruefully,  lifting  his  eyes  from  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  paper  that  meant  for  him  another  step 
towards  ruin.  "  The  devil's  in  it ;  I  will  play  no 
more  to-night ! " 

"Nay,  then,"  cried  the  Chevalier,  "by  your 
leave  I  will  take  your  place.  I  for  one  am  no 
such  believer  in  the  continuance  of  Mr.  Jennico's 
good  luck." 

There  was  something  harsh,  almost  offensive,  in 
the  tone  of  the  last  words,  and  Basil  turned  hi 
surprise  towards  the  speaker. 

"  The  Chevalier,"  he  said,  "  is  very  ready  to  risk 
his  gold  against  me  to-night." 

"  'Tis  so,  sir,"  returned  the  Chevalier,  with  such 
singular  arrogance  that  the  watchers  looked  at 
each  other  significantly,  and  Carew  whispered  to 
a  young  man  behind  his  chair,  "  Faith,  our  foreign 
friend  is  a  bad  loser  after  all!" 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  227 

Basil  had  flushed,  but  he  made  no  reply,  and 
contented  himself  with  raising  his  eyebrows  some- 
what contemptuously,  while  he  languidly  pushed 
his  own  dice-box  across  the  table  towards  his  new 
opponent. 

"  Come,"  said  the  Chevalier,  seizing  it  and  shak- 
ing it  fiercely,  "I  will  not  mince  the  stake.  A 
hundred  guineas  on  the  main." 

He  threw,  and  the  result  of  all  his  rattling  be- 
ing after  all  the  lowest  cast  of  the  evening,  there 
was  an  ill-suppressed  titter  round  the  table.  Basil 
made  no  attempt  to  hide  his  smile  as  he  lazily 
turned  over  his  dice  and  threw  just  one  higher. 

The  German's  face  had  grown  suffused  with 
dark  angry  crimson ;  the  veins  of  his  throat  and 
his  temples  began  to  swell. 

"  Double  or  quits,"  he  cried  huskily.  He  threw 
and  lost ;  doubled  his  stake,  threw  and  lost  again. 

There  was  something  about  the  scene  that 
aroused  the  audience  to  more  potent  interest  than 
the  ordinary  nightly  repeated  spectacle  of  loss  and 
gain. 

The  extraordinary  passion  displayed  by  the 
foreigner,  not  only  in  his  inflamed  countenance, 
but  in  the  very  motion  of  his  hands,  in  the  rigid 
tension  of  his  whole  body,  presented  a  strange 
contrast  to  the  languor  of  his  opponent.  It  was, 


228  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

moreover,  a  revelation  in  one  who  had  been 
known  hitherto  as  courteous  and  composed  to 
formality. 

"  It  is  to  be  hoped  some  one  has  a  lancet,"  said 
Carew,  "  for  I  believe  the  gentleman  will  have  an 
apoplexy  unless  a  little  blood  be  let  soon." 

"I  fear  me,"  answered  his  companion,  "that 
there  will  be  more  blood  let  than  you  think  for. 
Did  you  mark  that  look?" 

At  the  same  instant  the  Chevalier  flung  down 
his  box  with  such  violence  that  the  dice,  rebound- 
ing, flew  about  the  room,  and  gazed  across  at 
Basil  with  open  hatred,  as  one  glad  to  give  vent 
at  last  to  long-pent-up  fury. 

"  By  Heaven,  Mr.  Jennico ! "  he  cried,  "  were  it 
not  that  I  have  been  told  how  well  you  have 
qualified  for  this  success,  I  should  think  there 
was  more  in  such  marvellous  throwing  of  dice 
than  met  the  eye.  But  your  love  affairs,  I  hear, 
—  and  I  should  have  borne  it  in  mind,  —  have 
been  so  disastrous,  so  more  than  usually  dis- 
astrous," here  his  voice  broke  into  a  sort  of 
snarl,  "as  to  afford  sufficient  explanation  for  the 
marvel." 

There  was  a  cold  silence.  Then  Jennico  rose, 
white  as  death. 

"  If  you  know  so  much  about  me,  sir,"  he  said 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  229 

in  tones  that  for  all  the  anger  that  vibrated  in 
them  fell  harmoniously  upon  the  ear  after  the 
Chevalier's  savage  outburst,  "you  should  know 
too  that  there  is  a  subject  upon  which  I  never 
allow  any  one  to  touch.  Your  first  insinuation  I 
pass  over  with  the  contempt  it  deserves,  but  as 
regards  your  observation  on  what  you  are  pleased 
to  call  my  love  affairs,  I  can  only  consider  it  as  an 
intentional  insult.  And  this  is  my  answer." 

The  German  in  his  turn  had  sprung  to  his  feet, 
but  Basil  Jennico  leant  across  the  table,  and  be- 
fore he  could  guard  himself  struck  him  lightly  but 
deliberately  across  the  mouth. 


PART    III 


CHAPTER  I 

MEMOIR  OF  CAPTAIN  BASIL  JENNICO  (RESUMED  IN  THE 
SPRING  OF  THE  YEAR  1773) 

IN  MY  CASTLE  OF  TOLLENDHAL,  March,  1773. 

IT  is  the  will  of  one  whose  wishes  are  law  to 
me  that  I  should  proceed  with  these  pages,  begun 
under  such  stress  of  mental  trouble,  until  I  bring 
the  tangled  story  of  Basil  Jennico's  marriage  to  its 
singular  settlement. 

Without,  as  I  now  write,  all  over  the  land,  the 
ice-bound  brooks  are  melting,  and  our  fields  and 
roads  are  deep  in  impassable  mud.  The  whole 
air  is  full  of  the  breath  of  spring,  as  grateful  to  the 
nostrils  as  it  is  stirring  to  the  blood  of  man,  to  the 
sap  of  trees. 

But  it  is  ill  getting  about,  for  all  that  the  spring- 
time is  so  sweet  —  as  sweet  and  as  capricious  as  a 
woman  wooed  —  and  thus  there  is  time  for  this  oc- 

230 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  231 

cupation  of  scribe ;  yet  it  is  a  curious  task  for  one 
bred  to  so  vastly  different  a  trade;  neither,  God 
knows,  do  I  find  time  heavy  on  my  hands  just 
now !  Nevertheless,  I  must  even  end  this  preface 
as  I  have  begun  it,  and  say  that  I  am  fain  to  do  as 
I  am  bidden. 

The  last  line  I  traced  upon  these  sheets  (I  am 
filled  with  a  good  deal  of  wonder  at,  and  no  little 
admiration  of  myself,  when  I  view  what  a  goodly 
mass  I  have  already  blackened)  was  penned  at  one 
of  the  darkest  moments  of  that  dark  year. 

M.  de  Schreckendorf  —  little  messenger  of  such 
ill  omen  —  had  but  just  departed,  and  in  the  month 
that  followed  his  visit  the  courage  had  failed  me 
to  resume  my  melancholy  record,  though  truly  I 
had  things  to  relate  that  a  man  might  consider  like 
to  form  a  more  than  usually  thrilling  chapter  of 
autobiography. 

Towards  the  beginning  of  September,  I,  still  a 
dweller  upon  my  mother's  little  property  —  most 
peaceful  haunt,  it  would  seem,  in  the  heart  of  our 
peaceful  land  —  began  to  find  myself  the  object  of 
a  series  of  murderous  attacks  —  these,  so  repeated 
and  inveterate,  that  it  was  evident  that  they  were 
dictated  by  the  most  deliberate  purpose,  and  the 
more  alarming,  perhaps,  that  I  could  give  then  no 
guess  from  what  quarter  they  proceeded. 


232  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

Suspicion  fell  on  a  poaching  gang,  on  a  dis- 
honest groom,  on  a  discharged  bailiff.  At  length, 
seeing  my  mother  like  to  fall  ill  of  the  anxiety,  I 
consented  to  return  to  London,  although  the  coun- 
try life  and  the  wholesome  excitement  of  sport  had 
afforded  me  a  relief  from  my  restlessness  which 
existence  in  the  town  was  far  from  providing. 

No  sooner,  however,  was  I  fully  installed  in 
my  London  chambers,  than  the  persecution  began 
afresh.  I  had  fallen  into  an  idle  habit  of  going 
night  after  night  to  White's,  there  to  bet  and  gam- 
ble with  my  modish  acquaintances.  'Twas  not  that 
the  dice  had  any  special  attraction  for  me,  but  that 
my  nights  were  so  long. 

On  my  way  thither  one  mid-October  foggy  even- 
ing, my  life  was  once  more  attempted,  and  this 
time  with  a  deliberation  and  ferocity  which  might 
well  have  proved  successful  at  last. 

As  it  was,  however,  I  again  providentially  es- 
caped, and  was  able  to  proceed  to  the  club,  where 
I  had  an  appointment  with  a  poor  youth  —  our 
Norfolk  neighbour,  Sir  John  Beddoes  —  who  had 
already  lost  a  great  deal  of  money  to  me,  and 
would  not  be  content  until  he  had  lost  a  great  deal 
more :  I  had  the  most  insupportable  good  luck. 

I  little  knew  that  I  should  find  awaiting  me 
there  the  greatest  danger  I  had  yet  to  run ; 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  233 

that  the  head  which  had  directed  all  these  blows 
in  the  dark  was,  de  guerre  lasse,  preparing  to 
attack  me  in  the  open,  and  push  its  malice 
to  a  certain  climax.  A  foreign  gentleman  —  one 
Chevalier  de  Ville-Rouge,  as  I  knew  him  then  — 
had  sedulously  sought  first  my  acquaintance,  and 
thereupon  my  company,  for  some  weeks  past. 
And  though  I  had  not  found  him  very  entertain- 
ing —  I  was  not  in  the  mood  to  be  entertained 
by  any  one  —  I  had  no  reason  to  deny  him  either 
the  one  or  the  other. 

But  this  night,  arfter  first  addressing  me  with 
looks  and  tones  which  began  to  strike  me  as  un- 
warrantable, he  sat  a  round  of  hazard  with  me, 
for  the  sole  and  determined  purpose,  as  I  even 
then  saw,  of  grossly  insulting  me.  As  a  reply,  I 
struck  him  across  the  face,  for,  however  transpar- 
ent was  the  trap  laid  for  me,  the  provocation  before 
witnesses  was  of  a  kind  I  could  not  pass  over. 
And,  'fore  Heaven,  I  believe  I  was  in  my  heart 
glad  of  the  diversion  ! 

The  meeting  was  fixed  for  the  next  morning. 
Neither  of  us  would  consent  to  delay,  and  indeed 
the  German's  whole  demeanour,  once  he  had  given 
a  loose  rein  to  his  fury,  was  more  that  of  a  wild 
beast  thirsting  for  blood  than  of  a  being  endowed 
with  reason. 


234  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

Both  Sir  John  Beddoes  and  Mr.  Carew,  who  had 
formed  our  party,  indignant  at  the  coarseness  of 
the  foreigner's  behaviour,  volunteered  on  the  spot 
to  be  my  seconds,  and  Carew,  who  has  a  subtle 
knowledge  of  the  etiquette  of  honour,  arranged  the 
details  of  our  meeting.  It  was  to  take  place  in 
Chelsea  Gardens  half  an  hour  after  sunrise.  The 
weapons  chosen  by  M.  de  Ville-Rouge  were  swords, 
for  although  the  quarrel  had  been  of  his  own  seek- 
ing, my  blow  had  given  him  the  right  of  choice. 

It  was  two  o'clock  before  I  found  myself  again 
alone  in  my  rooms  that  night,  my  friends  having 
conducted  me  home,  and  seeming  somewhat  loath 
to  retire.  I  was  longing  for  a  couple  of  hours' 
solitude  before  the  dawn  of  the  day  which  might 
be  my  last.  I  felt  that  my  career  had  reached  its 
turning-point,  that  this  was  an  event  otherwise 
serious  than  any  of  the  quarrels  in  which  I  had 
been  hitherto  embroiled,  and  that  the  conduct  of 
affairs  was  not  in  my  hands. 

Carew  was  anxious  about  me  —  he  had  never 
yet  seen  a  duellist  of  my  kidney,  I  believe  —  and 
my  very  quietness  puzzled  him. 

"  Make  that  nutcracker  attendant  of  yours  pre- 
pare you  a  hot  drink,  man,"  cried  he,  as  at  last, 
with  honest  Beddoes,  he  withdrew,  "and  get  to  bed. 
Nothing  will  steady  your  hand  like  a  spell  of  sleep." 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  235 

But  there  was  no  sleep  for  me.  Besides  that 
the  pain  of  the  slight  wound  which  I  had  received 
in  the  night's  guet-apens  was  stiffening  to  great 
soreness,  there  was  an  excitement  in  my  brain  — 
partially  due  to  the  fever  incident  on  the  hurt  — 
which  would  not  permit  the  thought  of  rest. 

I  had  but  little  business  to  transact.  In  view 
of  the  present  uncertainty  of  my  life,  I  had  re- 
cently drawn  up  a  will  in  which,  after  certain  fitting 
legacies,  I  left  my  great  fortune  to  my  wife.  Now 
I  merely  gathered  together  the  whole  of  this  accu- 
mulated narrative  of  mine  into  a  weighty  packet, 
and  after  addressing  it,  deposited  it  in  Janos's  hands 
with  the  strict  injunction,  in  the  event  of  my  de- 
mise, to  deliver  it  personally  to  Ottilie. 

No  farewell  message  would  be  so  eloquent  as 
these  pages  in  which  I  had  laid  bare  the  innermost 
thoughts  of  my  soul  since  I  first  knew  her.  She 
should  receive  no  other  message  from  me.  I  next 
tore  up  poor  Beddoes's  litter  of  I  O  U's,  and  mak- 
ing a  parcel  of  the  fragments  directed  it  to  him. 
Janos  received  my  instructions  with  his  usual  taci- 
turn docility,  yet  if  anything  could  have  roused  me 
from  the  curious  state  of  apathy  in  which  I  found 
myself,  it  would  have  been  the  sight  of  the  dumb 
concern  on  the  faithful  fellow's  countenance. 

Having  thus  put  all  my  worldly  affairs  in  order, 


236  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

I  sat  me  down  in  my  armchair,  awaiting  the  dawn, 
and  viewed  the  past  as  one  who  has  done  with 
life.  I  had  a  strong  presentiment  upon  me  that 
I  should  not  survive  the  meeting. 

At  times,  the  vision  of  my  wife  sleeping,  at  that 
very  moment,  as  I  had  so  often  watched  her  sleep, 
lightly  and  easily  as  a  child,  little  wotting,  little 
caring,  perhaps,  if  she  had  wotted,  of  her  hus- 
band's solemn  vigil,  would  rise  up  before  me  with 
a  vividness  so  cruel  as  well-nigh  to  rouse  me.  But 
the  new  calmness  of  my  soul  defied  these  assaults ; 
an  unknown  philosophy  had  succeeded  to  the  vio- 
lence of  my  emotions. 

When  my  seconds  called  for  me  in  the  first  grey- 
ness  of  the  morning  they  found  me  ready  for  them. 
They  themselves  were  shivering  from  the  raw  cold, 
with  arms  thrust  to  the  elbows  into  the  depths  of 
their  muffs;  Carew,  all  yellow  and  shrivelled, — 
an  old  man  of  a  sudden,  —  and  Beddoes,  blue  and 
purple,  the  sleep  still  in  his  swollen  eyes,  hardly 
able  to  keep  his  teeth  from  chattering  —  a  very 
schoolboy !  They  could  scarce  conceal  their 
amazement  at  my  placidity.  It  was  not,  indeed, 
that  I  found  myself  bodily  fit  for  the  contest,  for 
the  whole  of  my  left  side  was  stiff,  and  I  could 
hardly  move  that  arm  without  pain ;  yet  placid  I 
was,  I  scarcely  now  know  why. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  237 

Thus  we  set  forth  in  Sir  John  Beddoes's  coach, 
Jdnos  on  the  box,  and  a  civil,  shy  young  man  on 
the  back  seat  beside  Beddoes :  this  was,  the  latter 
informed  me,  the  best  surgeon  he  had  been  able 
to  secure  at  such  short  notice. 

The  fog  disappeared,  and  when  the  mists  evapo- 
rated it  promised  to  be  a  fine,  bright,  frosty 
morning. 

Now,  it  may  be  after  all  that  I  was  a  little  light- 
headed with  the  heat  of  the  wound  in  my  blood, 
for  I  have  no  very  clear  recollections  of  that  morn- 
ing. It  remains  in  my  mind  rather  as  a  bright- 
coloured  fantasy  than  a  series  of  events  I  have 
actually  lived  through. 

I  remember,  as  a  man  may  remember  a  scene  in 
a  play,  a  garden  running  down  to  the  river-side, 
very  bare  and  desolate,  and  the  figure  and  face 
of  my  bulky  antagonist  as  he  conferred  excitedly 
with  two  outlandish-looking  men,  his  seconds. 
These  had  fierce  moustaches,  and  reminded  me 
vaguely  of  the  cravat  captains  I  had  known  in 
the  Empire.  Then  the  scene  shifts:  we  stand 
facing  each  other.  I  am  glad  of  the  chill  of  the 
air,  with  nothing  between  it  and  my  fevered  breast 
but  the  thinness  of  my  shirt.  But  my  opponent 
stamps  like  a  menacing  bull,  as  if  furious  at  the 
benumbing  blasts.  Now  I  am  fighting — fighting 


238  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

for  my  life — as  never  in  battle  or  in  single  com- 
bat have  I  had  need  to  fight  before.  This  is 
no  courteous  duel  between  gentlemen,  no  hon- 
ourable meeting,  but  the  struggle  of  a  man  with 
his  murderer.  Physically  at  a  disadvantage  from 
my  hurt,  I  am  moreover  conscious  that  against 
this  brute  fury  all  my  skill  at  arms  is  of  no 
avail  and  my  strength  is  rapidly  failing.  Then, 
as  he  drives  me  by  the  sheer  weight  of  his  mass, 
I  see  his  face  thrust  forward  into  mine,  distorted 
with  such  a  frenzy  that  I  wonder  in  a  sort  of 
unformed  way  why  this  man  should  thus  thirst 
to  kill  me.  The  next  moment,  with  an  extraordi- 
nary sense  of  universal  failure  and  disorganisation 
which  is  yet  not  pain,  I  realise  that  I  am  hit  — 
badly  hit. 

Upon  that  instant  I  find  my  brain  cleared  to 
a  lucidity  I  have  never  felt  before.  I  see  my 
opponent's  sword  flash  ruby  red  with  my  own 
blood  in  the  sun  rays;  I  see  him  smile,  a  smile 
of  glorious  triumph,  which  cuts  a  deep  dimple 
beside  his  lip ;  I  hear  him  pant  at  me  the  strange 
words,  "Ha!  Ottilie!"  and  then  I  am  again 
seared,  rent  once  more,  and  to  the  sound  of  a 
howl  of  many  voices  my  world  falls  into  chaos 
ind  exists  no  more. 

****** 


The  Pride  of  Jennie '0  239 

It  is  sometimes  but  a  short  and  easy  way  up  to 
the  gates  of  death,  but  a  long  and  weary  journey 
back  to  life.  It  was  a  long  and  weary  journey  to  me. 

I  was  like  to  a  man  who  travels  in  the  dead  of 
night  over  rough  ways,  and  now  and  again  slum- 
bers uneasily  with  troubled  dreams,  and  now  looks 
out  upon  a  glimmer  of  light  in  some  house  or 
village,  and  now  on  nothing  but  the  pitchy  dark- 
ness; and  yet  he  is  always  travelling  on  and  on 
till  he  is  weary  with  madness  of  fatigue.  And 
then,  as  the  dawn  breaks  upon  the  wanderer,  and 
he  sees  a  strange  land  around  him,  so  the  dawn 
of  what  seemed  a  new  existence  began  to  break 
for  me,  and  I  looked  upon  life  anew  with  wonder- 
ing eyes. 

At  first  I  looked  as  the  traveller  may,  with  eyes 
so  tired  and  drowsy  as  scarce  to  care  to  notice. 
But  in  yet  a  little  while  I  warmed  and  quickened 
to  the  sun  of  returning  health.  I  began  to  be 
something  more  than  a  mere  tortured  mass  of 
humanity;  each  breath  was  no  longer  misery  to 
draw ;  the  mind  was  able  to  re-assert  authority 
over  the  flesh.  That  dark,  watchful  figure  that 
seemed  to  have  been  sitting  at  the  foot  of  my 
bed  for  centuries,  that  was  Janos!  Poor  old  fel- 
low! I  could  not  yet  speak  to  him,  but  I  could 
smile.  My  next  thought  was  amaze  that  I  should 


240  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

be  in  a  strange  room;  it  had  a  very  teasing  tap. 
estry ;  its  figures  had  worried  me  long  before  I 
could  notice  them.  In  a  little  while  I  began  to 
understand  that  I  was  not  in  my  own  chambers, 
and  to  feel  such  irritation  at  the  liberty  which  had 
been  taken  with  me  that  I  should  have  demanded 
instant  explanation  had  my  strength  been  equal  to 
the  task. 

But  I  come  of  too  vigorous  stock,  the  blood 
that  runs  in  my  veins  is  too  sweet  —  because  I 
have  not,  like  so  many  young  fools  of  my  day, 
poisoned  it  with  endless  potations  and  dissolute- 
ness —  for  me,  when  once  on  the  broad  high  road 
to  recovery  (to  continue  my  travelling  simile),  to 
dally  over  the  ground. 

Moreover  I  wa£  too  well  nursed.  Janos,  it 
seems,  after  the  first  couple  of  visits,  in  each  of 
which  I  was  wisely  bled  of  the  diminished  store 
the  Chevalier's  sword  had  left  in  my  veins  — 
Janos  had  had  a  great  quarrel  with  the  surgeon, 
vowing  he  would  not  sefl  his  master's  murder 
completed  before  his  eyes  and  never  a  chance  of 
hanging  the  murderer. 

It  had  ended  in  the  old  soldier  taking  the  law 
into  his  own  hands,  dismissing  the  man  of  medi- 
cine, and  treating  me  after  his  own  lights.  He 
had  had  3  fairly  good  apprenticeship,  having 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  241 

attended  my  uncle  through  all  his  campaigns. 
As  far  as  I  am  concerned  I  am  convinced  that 
in  this,  as  well  as  in  another  matter  which  I 
am  about  to  relate,  he  saved  my  life. 

The  other  matter  has  reference  to  the  very 
change  of  quarters  which  had  excited  my  ire,  the 
true  explanation  of  which,  however,  I  did  not  re- 
ceive until  I  was  strong  enough  to  entertain  visit- 
ors. Janos  would  give  me  little  or  no  satisfaction. 

"  I  thought  in  myself  it  would  be  more  whole- 
some for  your  honour  than  your  other  house,"  was 
the  utmost  I  could  extract.  Indeed,  he  strenuously 
discouraged  all  conversation.  But  the  day  when 
this  stern  guardian  first  consented  to  admit  Carew 
and  Beddoes  to  my  presence,  —  and  that  was  not 
till  I  could  sit  up  in  bed  and  converse  freely,  —  all 
that  I  had  been  curious  about  was  made  clear  to 
me. 

Carew,  indeed,  had  the  virtue  of  being  an  ex- 
cellent gossip.  I  had  at  one  time  deemed  it  his 
only  quality,  but  I  learned  better  then.  Both  the 
gentlemen,  each  in  his  own  fashion,  displayed  a 
certain  emotion  at  seeing  me  again,  in  which 
A  Measure  at  the  fact  of  my  being  still  in  the  land 
of  the  living,  and  likely  to  remain  so,  was  qualified 
by  the  painful  impression  produced  by  my  altered 
appearance. 


242  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

Sir  John,  the  boy,  sat  himself  down  on  the  edge 
of  my  bed  and  squeezed  my  hand  in  silence,  with 
something  like  tears  in  his  eyes.  Carew,  the  rou6, 
was  very  deliberate  in  his  choice  of  a  chair,  took 
snuff  with  a  vast  deal  of  elegant  gesture,  and 
fired  off,  with  it  might  be  an  excess  of  merriment, 
such  jocularities  as  he  had  gathered  ready  against 
the  occasion.  Both  of  them  seemed  to  deem  it 
incumbent  upon  them  to  avoid  any  reference  to  the 
duel.  I,  however,  very  promptly  brought  up  the 
subject. 

"  Now,  for  God's  sake,"  I  said,  "  let  a  poor  man 
who  has  been  kept  like  a  child  with  a  cross  nurse 
—  take  your  pap,  go  to  sleep,  ask  no  questions  — 
learn  at  last  a  little  about  himself.  In  the  first 
place,  where  am  I  ?  In  the  second,  what  has  be- 
come of  the  red  devil  who  brought  me  to  this 
pass  ? " 

"  In  the  first  place,  Jennico,"  said  Carew,  "  you 
are  at  the  house  of  Lady  Beddoes,  mother  to 
our  friend  here,  a  very  pleasing  little  residence 
situate  on  Richmond  Hill.  Secondly,  that  red 
devil,  as  you  call  him,  that  most  damnable  villain, 
has  fled  the  country,  as  well  he  might,  for  if  ever 
a  knave  deserved  stringing  up  as  high  as  Ha- 
man  —  but  of  that  anon.  There  is  a  good  deal  to 
tell  you  if  you  think  you  can  bear  the  excitement. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  243 

"  Well,"  he  pursued,  upon  my  somewhat  pettish 
asseveration,  "  I  myself  think  a  little  pleasant  con- 
versation will  do  you  more  good  than  harm.  To 
begin  with,  you  are  doubtless  not  aware  that  you 
are  a  dead  man." 

"  How  ? "  cried  I,  a  little  startled,  for  my  nerve 
was  yet  none  of  the  strongest. 

"Nay,  nay,  dash  you,  Carew,"  interposed  Sir 
John,  "don't  ye  make  those  jokes.  Gruesome, 
I  call  'em :  it  makes  me  creep !  No,  Basil,  lad, 
thou  art  alive,  and  wilt  live  to  set  that  Chevalier, 
whoever  he  may  be,  swinging  for  it  yet."  And 
here  in  his  eager  partisanship  he  broke  into  a 
volley  of  execrations  which  would  have  run  my 
poor  great-uncle's  performances  pretty  close. 

"  Why,"  said  I  impatiently,  "  'tis  enigma  to  me 
still  why  I  am  here;  why  I  am  dead;  why  the 
Chevalier  should  hang.  I  think  you  have  all 
sworn  to  drive  me  mad  among  you." 

I  was  so  evidently  exasperated  that  Beddoes, 
all  of  a  tremble,  besought  Carew  to  explain  the 
situation. 

"  He'll  do  himself  a  mischief,"  he  cried  patheti- 
cally; "do  you  tell  him,  Carew, — you  know  what 
a  fool  I  am  !  " 

Carew  was  nothing  loath  to  set  about  what  was 
indeed  the  chief  pleasure  of  his  life,  the  retailing  of 


244  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

scandal;  and  it  seems  that  the  Jennico  duel  was 
a  very  pretty  scandal  indeed. 

"  I  will  take  your  last  question  first,"  said  he, 
settling  himself  to  his  task  with  gusto.  "  Why  the 
Chevalier  should  hang  ?  Who  he  really  is,  where 
he  comes  from,  why  he  hates  you  with  such  deadly 
hatred,  Jennico,  are  all  mysteries  which  I  confess 
myself  unable  to  fathom  —  doubtless  you  can  fur- 
nish us  with  the  clue  by-and-by." 

As  he  spoke  his  pale  eye  kindled  with  a  most 
devouring  curiosity.  Nevertheless  as  I  showed  no 
desire  to  interrupt  him  by  any  little  confidence,  he 
proceeded  glibly : 

"  But  why  the  Chevalier  should  hang  is  another 
matter.  Gadzooks,  I'd  run  him  down  myself  were 
it  but  for  his  impudence  in  getting  gentlemen  like 
myself  to  come  and  see  foul  play.  Why,  Jennico, 
man,  don't  you  know  that  after  charging  you  like 
a  bull,  and  running  you  once  through  the  body,  the 
scoundrel  stabbed  you  again  as  you  were  sinking 
down  and  the  sword  had  dropped  from  your  hand. 
I  doubt  me  he  would  have  spitted  you  a  third  time 
to  make  quite  sure,  had  not  Beddoes  and  I  fallen 
upon  him." 

"  I'd  have  run  him  through,"  here  interposed 
Sir  John  excitedly ;  "  I  had  drawn  for  it,  had  I  not, 
Dick?  —  and  I'd  have  run  him  through,  but  that 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  245 

the  surgeon  called  out  that  you  were  dead ;  and 
dash  me,  between  the  turn  I  got  and  the  way 
those  queer  seconds  of  his  hustled  him  away,  I  lost 
the  chance !  And  the  three  of  them  ran,  they  ran 
like  rats,  to  the  river.  Gad,  I'd  have  left  my  mark 
on  them  even  then,  but  Carew,  be  hanged  to  him, 
held  on  by  my  coat-tails." 

"  'Tis  just  as  Jack  told  you,"  said  Carew.  "  No 
sooner  had  they  heard  you  were  dead,  my  friend, 
than  they  ran  for  it,  and  it  is  quite  true  that  I 
restrained  Jack  here  from  sticking  them  in  the 
back  as  they  skedaddled.  A  pretty  affair  of 
honour,  indeed ! " 

I  lay  back  on  my  pillows  awhile,  musing.  I 
had  had  time  to  reflect  on  many  things  these 
days,  and — God  knows  —  there  were  enigmas 
enough  in  my  life  to  give  me  food  for  reflection. 
What  I  had  just  heard  caused  me  no  surprise, 
tallying  as  it  did  with  conclusions  I  had  previously 
reached. 

After  a  moment  Carew  cleared  his  throat,  edged 
his  chair  a  foot  nearer,  and  queried  confidentially : 
"  Did  it  never  strike  you  that  the  Chevalier  must 
have  been  part  and  parcel,  if  not  the  moving  spirit, 
of  those  attacks  upon  your  life  which  you  told  us 
of  that  night  at  the  club  ?  You  did  not  appear  to 
have  a  notion  of  it  then.  Yet  there  was  not  a  man 


246  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

of  us  there  who  did  not  see  but  the  quarrel  was 
deliberately  got  up." 

"  And  d'ye  mind,"  cried  Sir  John,  "  how  he  bet 
me  you  would  not  live  a  month  ? " 

"  Ay,"  said  Carew,  "  and  Jennico  knows  best 
himself  if  in  his  gay  youth,  in  foreign  parts,  he 
has  not  given  good  cause  for  this  mortal  enmity, 
though  to  be  sure  the  mystery  thickens  when  we 
remember  how  friendly  you  were  with  each  other. 
Jennico  is  such  a  close  dog;  he  keeps  such  a 
dashed  tight  counsel !  " 

I  smiled.  Jennico  would  keep  his  counsel  still. 
I  meant  these  good  fellows  should  expound  my 
riddles  for  me,  not  I  theirs. 

"But  since  I  am  dead,"  said  I,  "I  fear,  Jack, 
thou  hast  lost  on  me  again." 

"  The  gentleman  did  not  leave  his  address,"  said 
Sir  John  with  a  grin ;  and  he  furtively  squeezed 
my  hand  to  express  his  secret  sense  of  the  little 
transaction  of  the  I  O  U's. 

"We  made  some  clamour  at  the  Embassy,  I 
promise  you,"  interposed  Carew;  "we  were  anx- 
ious to  pay  him  all  his  due,  you  may  be  sure. 
But  devil  a  bit  of  satisfaction  could  we  get,  save 
indeed  that  the  Ambassador  took  to  his  bed  with 
a  fit  of  gout,  and  you  being  dead,  Jennico,  —  you 
are  dead  still,  remember,  —  to  bury  you  was  the 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  247 

best  thing  your  friends  could  do  for  you,  till  you 
were  able  to  take  fit  measures  to  protect  yourself. 
And  indeed  it  was  that  queer  old  Tartar  of  yours, 
your  Janos,  or  whatever  you  call  him,  who  loudly 
insisted  upon  your  demise,  when  we  found  the  first 
alarm  was  unfounded  and  that  you  still  breathed. 
Gad,  I  believe  you  have  as  many  lives  as  a  cat! 
This  fellow  then  says  to  us  in  his  queer  jargon : 
'  My  master  lives,  but  he  must  all  the  same  be 
thought  dead.'  And  faith  he  besought  us  with 
such  urgency,  that,  what  with  seeing  you  lying 
there,  and  knowing  what  we  knew  of  the  foul 
play  that  had  been  practised  upon  you,  we  were 
ready  enough  to  fall  in  with  his  desires.  Sir  John 
bethought  him  of  his  mother's  house  at  Richmond, 
and  offered  to  accompany  you  there,  —  or  rather 
your  body:  you  were  little  less  just  then.  Next 
the  surgeon  swore  the  journey  would  kill  you,  and 
your  servant  swore  you  should  not  be  harboured 
in  the  town.  The  fellow  knew  you :  '  Good  breed,' 
he  said,  '  not  easily  killed ! '  And  so  he  won  the 
day,  and  Miles  the  surgeon  gave  in ;  but  indeed  he 
told  me  apart,  'twas  waste  of  time  disputing,  for 
anyhow  you  could  not  see  the  noon.  But  here 
you  are  at  my  Lady  Beddoes's  house  at  Richmond, 
alive  and  like  to  live,  though  you  have  ceased  to 
exist  for  most  men.  There  was  a  charming,  really 


248  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

a  most  touching,  obituary  notice  in  the  Gazettes  •, 
you  have  been  duly  lamented  at  the  clubs  —  and 
forgotten  within  the  usual  nine  days.  Rumours 
will  soon  begin  to  get  about  of  course,  but  nobody 
knows  anything  positive.  The  secret  is  still  kept. 
Janos,  I  believe,  has  contrived  to  assuage  the  anx- 
iety of  your  relatives." 

Here  the  speaker  took  so  copious  a  pinch  to 
refresh  himself  after  his  long  speech  that  he  set 
me  off  sneezing,  whereupon  my  special  Cerberus 
promptly  made  his  appearance  and  bundled  the 
visitors  forth  without  more  ado. 

****** 

I  have  said  that  my  friend's  belief  in  the  Cheva- 
lier's implication  in  the  divers  murderous  onsetr 
that  had  been  made  upon  me,  previous  to  his  own, 
did  not  surprise  me.  The  memory  of  M.  de  Ville- 
Rouge's  cry,  as  he  dealt  me  what  he  believed  my 
death  stroke,  —  a  cry  in  which  it  would  be  hard 
to  say  whether  savage  triumph  or  sheer  vindictive- 
ness  most  predominated,  —  had  come  back  on  me, 
as  soon  as  I  could  think  at  all,  with  most  revealing 
force. 

His  arrival  in  England  had  coincided  with  the 
beginning  of  the  persecution.  The  look  on  his 
face  as  I  had  last  seen  it,  that  smile  and  that 
dimple,  had  haunted  me  during  long  hours  of  de- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  249 

lirium  with  a  most  maddening,  grotesque,  and  hor- 
rible likeness  to  the  face  of  her  I  had  so  loved. 
Coupling  these  things  in  later  sanity  of  mind  with 
the  other  evidence,  I  could  not  doubt  but  that  here 
had  been  some  relative  of  Ottilie,  who  had  interest 
to  put  an  end  to  her  husband's  existence.  Had 
not  her  pock-marked  Mercury  at  the  close  of  our 
interview  uttered  words  of  earnest  warning?  ay, 
I  minded  them  now : 

"The  matter  will  not  end  here.  .  .  .  Have  a 
care,  young  man.  .  .  ." 

As  I  thought  of  all  this,  as  the  whole  meaning 
of  what  had  seemed  so  mysterious  now  lay  clear 
before  me,  I  would  be  seized  with  a  sort  of  deadly 
anguish,  compared  to  which  all  my  previous  suf- 
ferings, whether  of  body  or  mind,  had  been  but 
trivial.  Could  she,  could  Ottilie,  have  known  of 
this  work  ?  Could  she  —  have  inspired  it  ? 

The  sweat  that  would  break  out  upon  me  at 
Guch  a  thought  was  more  than  all  my  fever  had 
wrung  from  my  body,  and  my  faithful  leech  would 
wonder  to  find  me  faint  and  reeking,  and  would 
puzzle  his  poor  brains  in  vain  upon  the  cause,  and 
decoct  me  new  teas  of  dreadful  compounds,  febri- 
fuges which  he  vowed  had  never  failed. 

But  then  at  other  times  the  vision  of  my  wife 
would  rise  before  me  and  shame  me.  I  would  see 


250  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

again  her  noble  brow,  her  clear  eye,  her  arched 
and  innocent  lip,  and  in  my  weakness  and  the 
passion  of  my  longing  I  would  turn  and  weep 
upon  my  pillow  to  think  that,  having  to  my  sorrow 
lost  her,  I  should  come  now  to  lose  even  my  faith 
in  her,  and  yet  should  love  her  still  with  such  mad 
love. 

Now  there  must  be,  as  Jdnos  would  have  it, 
something  remarkably  tough  in  the  breed  of  Jen- 
nico for  me  to  recover  from  such  wounds  both 
bodily  and  mental.  Recover  I  did,  however,  in 
spite  of  all  odds ;  and  a  resolve  I  made  with  re- 
turning strength  did  a  good  deal  to  ease  my  mind, 
tossed  between  such  torturing  fluctuations. 

This  resolve  was  no  less  than  to  leave  the  coun- 
try some  fine  morning,  in  secret,  so  soon  as  I 
could  undertake  the  journey  with  any  likelihood 
of  being  able  to  persevere  in  it,  to  speed  to  Budis- 
sin,  and  discover  for  myself  the  real  attitude  of 
Ottilie  towards  me.  I  was  determined  that,  ac- 
cording as  I  found  her,  —  either  what  my  heart 
would  still  deem  her,  or  yet  so  base  a  thing  as  the 
fiend  whispered,  —  that  I  would  try  to  win  her 
back,  were  I  to  die  in  the  attempt,  or  thrust  her 
from  my  life  for  ever. 

Thus  when  I  heard  that  my  enemy  and  the 
world  believed  me  dead,  when  I  realised  that  she 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  251 

too  must  probably  share  in  the  delusion,  I  was 
glad,  for  not  only  would  it  materially  facilitate 
my  re-entering  the  Duchy,  but  it  would  afford  me 
an  excellent  opportunity  of  judging  her  real  feel- 
ings. I  had  no  doubt  but  that,  if  I  set  to  work  in 
a  proper  manner  and  duly  preserved  my  incognito, 
I  should  be  able,  now  that  all  pretext  for  quaran- 
tine had  disappeared,  to  secure  an  interview  with- 
out too  much  difficulty. 

So  all  my  desires  hastening  towards  that  goal, 
I  set  myself  to  become  a  whole  man  again  with  so 
much  energy  that  even  Janos  was  surprised  at  the 
rapidity  of  my  progress. 


CHAPTER  II 

IT  was  towards  the  middle  of  December  that  we 
started  upon  the  journey — a  little  sooner  indeed 
than  my  surgeon  and  mentor  approved  of,  but 
his  power  over  me  dwindled  as  my  own  strength 
returned. 

Being  chiefly  anxious  to  preserve  my  incognito, 
I  hesitated  some  time  before  permitting  Janos  to 
accompany  me,  his  personal  appearance  unfortu- 
nately being  of  a  kind  unlikely  to  be  forgotten 
when  once  seen.  But,  besides  the  fact  that  I 
could  not  find  it  in  me  to  inflict  such  pain  upon 
that  excellent  fellow,  there  was  an  undoubted  ad- 
vantage to  myself  in  the  presence  of  one  upon 
whose  fidelity  and  courage  I  could  so  absolutely 
reckon  in  an  expedition  likely  to  prove  of  extreme 
difficulty  and  perhaps  of  peril.  Moreover,  the  man 
would  have  followed  me  in  spite  of  me.  I  insisted, 
however,  upon  his  shaving  off  his  great  pandour 
moustaches  —  a  process  which  though  it  altered 
did  not  improve  his  appearance ;  his  aspect, 
indeed,  being  now  so  fantastically  ugly  as  to 
drive  me,  despite  my  preoccupation,  into  inextin- 

252 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  253 

guishable  paroxysms  of  laughter  every  time  I 
unexpectedly  got  a  glimpse  of  his  visage,  until 
habit  wore  away  the  impression. 

As  to  myself,  my  long  illness  had,  as  I  thought, 
sufficiently  changed  me.  Besides,  the  news  of  my 
resurrection  was  too  recently  and  too  vaguely 
rumoured  in  London  to  have  reached,  or  to  be 
likely  to  reach,  the  Continent  for  many  a  long  day. 

Under  the  humble  style,  therefore,  of  a  Munich 
gentleman  returning  from  his  travels,  —  one  Theo- 
dor  Desberger,  with  his  attendant  (now  dubbed 
Johann),  a  character  which  my  Austrian-German 
fitly  enabled  me  to  sustain,  —  I  set  sail  from  Lon- 
don to  Hamburg,  and  after  a  favourable  sea-pas- 
sage, which  did  much  to  invigorate  me,  we  landed 
in  the  free  city  and  proceeded  towards  Budissin 
by  easy  stages ;  for,  despite  the  ardour  of  my  im- 
patience, I  felt  the  importance  of  husbanding  my 
newly-acquired  strength.  At  Budissin  we  put  up 
of  course  at  a  different  hostelry  from  that  chosen 
upon  our  first  venture  —  one  much  farther  away 
from  the  palace. 

The  little  town  presented  now  a  very  different 
aspect.  Indeed,  its  gay  and  cheery  bustle,  and 
the  crisp  frosty  weather  which  greeted  us  there, 
might  have  raised  inspiriting  thoughts.  But  it 
was  with  a  heart  very  full  of  anxiety,  with  the 


254  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

determination  rather  to  face  ill  fortune  bravely 
than  the  hope  of  good,  that  I  passed  the  night. 
I  got  but  little  sleep,  for,  having  reached  my  goal, 
I  scarcely  knew  how  to  begin.  Nor  in  the  morn- 
ing had  I  arrived  at  any  definite  conclusion. 

The  risk  of  presenting  myself  in  person  at  the 
palace  after  my  former  fashion  was  too  great  to 
be  entertained  for  a  moment.  I  had  therefore  to 
content  myself  with  despatching  Janos  to  make 
cautious  inquiries  as  to  one  Fraulein  Pahlen  and 
her  relatives,  not  forgetting  a  bulky  gentleman  he 
knew  of,  recently  returned  from  England. 

I  myself,  in  my  plainest  suit,  and  with  my  cloak 
disposed  as  a  muffler,  partly  concealing  my  face, 
set  forth  upon  my  side  to  gather  what  crumbs  of 
information  I  might. 

At  the  very  outset  I  had  a  most  singular  meeting. 
Traversing  the  little  town  in  the  brisk  morning  air 
under  a  dome  of  palest  blue,  I  naturally  directed 
my  steps  towards  the  castle,  seated  on  its  terrace 
and  towering  above  the  citizens'  brown  roofs. 

I  had  taken  a  somewhat  circuitous  route  to 
avoid  passing  in  front  of  the  main  guard,  and 
found  myself  presently  in  a  quiet  street,  one  side 
of  which  was  bound  by  the  castle  garden  walls, 
and  the  other  —  that  upon  which  I  walked  —  by 
a  row  of  private  houses  seemingly  of  some  im- 


The  Pride  of  Jennko  255 

portance.  Now,  as  I  walked,  engaged  in  gazing 
upwards  at  the  long  row  of  escutcheoned  windows 
which  I  could  just  see  above  the  wall,  and  fool- 
ishly wondering  through  which  of  them  my  cruel 
little  wife  might  be  wont  to  look  forth  into  the 
outer  world,  I  nearly  collided  with  a  woman  who 
was  hurrying  out  of  one  of  the  houses. 

As  I  drew  back  to  recover  myself,  and  to  apolo- 
gise, something  in  the  dark  figure  struck  me  with 
poignant  reminiscence.  The  next  instant,  as  she 
would  have  passed  me,  I  caught  her  by  the 
shoulder. 

"Anna!"  I  cried  wildly,  "God  be  thanked, 
Anna ! "  For  upon  this  very  first  morning  of  my 
quest  Heaven  had  brought  me  face  to  face  with 
no  less  a  person  than  Ottilie's  old  nurse. 

The  recognition  on  her  side  was  almost  simul- 
taneous. No  sooner  had  the  muffling  cloak  fallen 
from  my  mouth,  than  the  dull  and  rather  surly 
countenance  that  she  had  turned  upon  me  became 
convulsed  by  the  most  extraordinary  emotion. 
She  gave  a  stifled  cry.  Then  she  clapped  her 
hands  together,  pressed  them  clasped  against  her 
cheek,  and  stared  at  me  with  piercing  intensity, 
crying  again  and  again : 

"  God  in  heaven  —  you !   God  in  heaven  —  you  ! " 

The  black  eyes  were  as  hard  to  read  as  those 


256  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

of  a  shepherd's  dog,  who  fixes  with  the  same 
earnest  look  the  master  he  loves  or  the  enemy 
he  suspects.  And  as  we  stood  thus,  the  space  of 
a  few  seconds,  my  mind  misgave  me  as  to  whether 
I  had  not  already  jeopardised  all  my  prospects  by 
this  impulsive  disclosure.  It  was  evident  that  the 
woman  had  heard  the  story  of  my  death,  which  in 
this  hostile  place  was  my  chief  security.  But  the 
die  was  cast,  and  the  chance  of  information  was 
too  precious  not  to  be  seized  even  at  greater  risks. 
I  laid  hold  of  her  cloak,  then  passionately  grasped 
her  hands.  "  Oh,  Anna !  "  I  cried  again,  and  the 
bare  thought  that  I  was  once  more  so  near  the 
beloved  of  my  heart  brought  in  my  weakness 
the  heat  of  tears  to  my  eyes.  "  Where  is  she  ? 
Where  is  my  wife  ?  What  does  she  ?  Anna,  I 
must  see  her.  My  life  is  in  danger  in  this  place ; 
they  have  tried  to  kill  me  because  I  love  her,  but 
I  had  rather  risk  death  again  a  thousand  times 
than  give  her  up.  Take  me  to  her,  Anna ! " 

The  woman  had  never  ceased  regarding  me 
with  the  same  enigmatic  earnestness ;  all  at  once 
her  eyes  lightened,  she  looked  from  side  to  side 
with  the  cautiousness  of  some  animal  conscious 
of  danger,  then  wrenched  her  hands  out  of  mine : 

"Follow  me,  sir,"  she  said  in  a  whisper,  so 
urgent  in  its  apprehension  as  to  strike  a  colder 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  257 

chill  into  my  veins  than  the  wildest  scream  could 
have  done.  Without  another  glance  at  me  she 
started  off  in  front,  and  I  as  hastily  followed, 
almost  mechanically  flinging  my  cloak  once  more 
across  my  mouth  as  I  moved  on. 

Whither  was  she  leading  me  ?  Into  the  hands 
of  my  enemies,  whoever  they  were  ?  —  she  had 
always,  I  had  thought,  hated  me  —  or  into  the 
arms  of  my  wife? 

She  turned  away  from  the  palace,  down  a  bye- 
street,  and  then  took  another  turn  which  brought 
us  into  a  poor  alley  where  the  houses  became 
almost  cottages,  and  where  the  gutters  ran  among 
the  cobbles  with  liquid  filth. 

My  wild  hope  gave  place  to  sinister  foreboding ; 
and  as  I  plodded  carefully  after  her  unwavering 
figure,  I  loosened  the  hilt  of  my  sword  in  its  scab- 
bard, and  settled  the  folds  of  my  cloak  around  my 
left  arm  so  that  at  a  pinch  I  might  doff  it  and  use 
it  for  defence. 

Suddenly  my  guide  halted  for  a  second,  looked 
at  me  over  her  shoulder,  and  disappeared  down 
some  steps  into  the  open  door  of  a  mean  little 
shop.  I  entered  after  her,  at  once  disappointed  in 
all  my  expectations  and  reassured  by  the  humble 
vulgarity  of  the  place.  Anna,  as  I  had  ever 
known  her,  was  chary  of  speech.  Even,  as  stoop- 


2 $8  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

ing  I  made  my  way  into  the  low,  gloomy,  and 
evil-smelling  narrow  room,  I  saw  her  imperiously 
motion  an  ugly  sallow  young  woman  out  of  her 
presence ;  and,  still  in  silence,  I  watched  her,  won- 
dering, as  she  made  fast  the  doors  and  bent  her 
dark  face  to  listen  if  all  were  still.  Then  she 
produced  from  a  counter,  paper,  ink,  and  pen, 
and  spreading  them  out  turned  to  me  with  a  sin- 
gle word :  "  Write." 

So  small  was  the  result  of  all  these  preliminaries. 

"  You  mean,"  said  I,  "  that  if  I  write  to  your 
mistress,  you  will  convey  the  letter?  Alas!  I 
have  written  before  and  she  would  not  even  re- 
ceive my  writing.  Oh !  can  you  not  get  me 
speech  of  her?  I  conjure  you  by  the  love  you 
bear  her,  let  me  see  her  but  for  a  few  min- 
utes." 

The  woman  fixed  me  for  a  second  with  a 
startled  wondering  eye,  opened  her  mouth  as  if 
to  speak,  but  immediately  clapped  her  hand  to  it 
as  if  to  restrain  the  words.  Then,  with  a  passion 
of  entreaty  that  it  was  impossible  to  withstand, 
she  pointed  to  the  paper  and  cried  once  more, 
"Write." 

And  so  I  seemed  ever  destined  to  communicate 
with  my  wife  from  strange  places  and  by  strange 
messengers. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  259 

With  a  trembling  hand  and  a  brain  in  a  whirl 
I  wrote  —  I  hardly  know  what:  a  wild,  passion- 
ate, reproachful  appeal,  setting  forth  in  incohe- 
rent words  all  I  had  done  and  suffered,  all  my 
desire,  all  my  faithful  love.  When  I  looked  up 
at  length  I  found  the  black  eyes  still  watching 
me  with  the  same  inscrutable  fierceness.  I  was 
going  to  trust  my  life  and  its  hopes  to  this  woman, 
and  for  a  moment  I  hesitated.  But  at  the  same 
instant  there  was  some  noise  without,  and  snatch- 
ing the  letter  unfinished  from  before  me,  she 
thrust  it  into  her  bosom,  folded  her  cloak  across 
it,  and  stooping  close  to  me  demanded  in  her 
breathless  undertone : 

"  Where  do  you  live  ? " 

Mechanically  I  told  her,  adding:  "Ask  for 
M.  Desberger." 

She  nodded  with  swift  comprehension,  unbolted 
the  barred  front  door  of  the  little  shop,  and  drew 
me  hastily  out  by  the  back,  along  a  close,  flagged 
passage,  leaving  an  irate  customer  hammering  and 
clamouring  for  admittance. 

We  proceeded  through  a  small  yard  into  another 
alley,  and  here  she  halted  a  second,  still  detaining 
me  by  my  cloak. 

"  Go  home,"  she  said  then ;  "  keep  close.  There 
is  danger  —  danger.  You  will  hear." 


260  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

She  suddenly  caught  my  hand,  kissed  it,  and 
was  gone.  I  stood  awhile  bewildered,  aston- 
ished, staring,  hardly  able  to  grasp  the  meaning 
of  what  had  passed,  for  this  last  scene  in  the 
drama  of  my  life  had  been  acted  hurriedly  and 
was  full  of  mysterious  significance.  Then,  unob- 
trusively, I  sought  the  shelter  of  my  own  inn, 
resolving  to  obey  to  the  letter  the  injunctions  laid 
upon  me ;  but  fate  had  willed  it  otherwise. 

Determined  not  to  interfere  with  the  course  of 
fortune  by  any  least  indocility,  I  retired  into  the 
seclusion  of  my  chambers,  and  pretexting  a  slight 
indisposition,  to  rouse  no  undue  suspicion  by  an 
air  of  mystery,  gave  orders  for  my  dinner  to  be 
served  there. 

A  stout  red-cheeked  wench  with  rough  bare 
arms  had  just,  grinning,  clattered  the  first  greasy 
dish  before  me,  when  I  heard  Janos's  foot  upon 
the  stairs.  I  had  learnt  to  know  the  sound  of 
his  step  pretty  well  in  my  recent  weeks  of  sick- 
ness, but  I  had  not  been  wont  to  hear  it  come 
so  laggingly,  and  the  fact  that  it  halted  altogether 
outside  the  door  for  a  second  or  two,  as  if  its 
owner  hesitated  to  enter,  filled  me  with  such  a 
furious  impatience  that  I  got  up  and  flung  it 
open  to  wrest  his  news  from  him.  Not  even 
when  he  had  held  up  my  poor  great-uncle  in  his 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  261 

arms  to  let  him  draw  his  last  breath  on  earth,  had 
I  seen  the  fellow  wear  a  countenance  of  such  dis- 
composure. 

"  In  Heaven's  name,  Janos,"  cried  I,  and  the 
sturdy  house-wench  turned  and  stared  at  him 
more  agoggle  and  agrin  than  before. 

"  Get  out  of  that,  you "  cried  my  servitor, 

snapping  at  her  with  such  sourness,  and  so  for- 
getful of  the  decorum  he  usually  displayed  in  my 
presence,  that  it  was  clear  he  was  mightily  moved. 

She  fled  as  if  some  savage  old  watch-dog  had 
nipped  at  her  heel,  and  we  were  alone. 

I  had  returned  from  my  own  exploration  full  of 
hope,  and  at  the  same  time  of  wonder,  so  that  I 
was  at  once  ill  and  well  prepared  for  any  tidings, 
however  extraordinary.  But  Janos's  tidings  seemed 
difficult  of  telling. 

"  Let  us  go  home,  honoured  sir,"  he  stammered 
again  and  again,  surveying  me  with  a  compassion 
and  an  anxiety  he  had  not  vouchsafed  upon  me 
at  the  worst  of  my  illness.  I  had  to  drag  the 
words  from  him  piecemeal,  as  the  torturer  forces 
out  the  unwilling  confession. 

Yes,  he  had  news — bad  news.  This  was  no  place 
for  me.  It  was  not  wholesome  for  us  here.  Let  us 
return  to  Tollendhal,  or  Vienna,  or  even  England 
Let  us  start  before  further  mischief  overtook  us. 


262  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

I  believe  I  fell  upon  him  at  last  and  shook  him. 
What  had  he  heard.  What  had  he  heard  of  her  ? 
I  vowed  he  was  driving  me  mad,  vowed  that  if  he 
did  not  instantly  tell  me  all  I  would  throw  cau- 
tion to  the  wind  and  go  to  the  palace  and  demand 
my  wife  in  person,  were  it  of  the  Duke  himself. 
This  threat  extorted  at  length  the  terrible  thing 
that  even  the  rough  old  soldier  feared  to  utter. 

"The  lady,"  he  stammered,  "the  lady  can  no 
longer  be  spoken  of  as  your  honour's  wife.  She 
is  married." 

"  Married !  "  I  cried.  "  What  do  you  mean, 
you  scoundrel  ?  No  longer  my  wife  !  Married ! 
You  are  raving  —  this  is  stark  lunacy." 

He  shook  his  grey  head  under  the  shower  of  my 
fury. 

"  Married.  Does  your  honour  forget  that  they 
think  here  that  they  have  at  last  succeeded  in 
killing  you?" 

I  looked  at  him  aghast,  unwilling  to  admit  the 
awful  illumination  that  flashed  upon  my  mind. 
He,  believing  me  still  incredulous,  proceeded : 

"  Married  she  is.  Fraulein  Pahlen,  the  lady-in- 
waiting, —  Fraulein  Pahlen,  as  your  honour  bade 
me  call  her,  and  as  it  seems  she  called  herself 
until  ..."  and  then  with  a  significant  emphasis, 
"until  six  weeks  ago." 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  263 

"And  who  is  the  man?"  said  I.  The  words 
sounded  in  my  ears  as  if  some  one  else  had  spoken, 
but  I  believe  I  was  astoundingly  calm. 

Misled  no  doubt  by  this  appearance  of  com- 
posure, Janos  seemed  to  take  more  confidence,  and 
continued  in  easier  tones,  while  I  held  myself  still 
to  listen. 

"  It  is  the  Court  physician,  one  privy  counsellor 
Lothner.  I  was  shown  his  house,  a  big  one  in  the 
Schloss  Graben,  number  ten,  opposite  the  palace 
walls.  Ay,  yes,  they  were  married  six  weeks  ago, 
and  the  Duke  was  present  at  the  marriage  .  .  . 
and  the  Princess  too !  They  say  it  was  made 
up  by  their  wishes.  Oh !  honoured  sir,  let  us 
hence.  You  are  well  quit  of  it  all ;  this  is  a  bad 
place!" 

Yet  I  stood  without  moving.  Chasm  after 
chasm,  horror  after  horror,  seemed  to  be  opening 
before  my  mind;  chasms  so  black  that  I  scarce 
ventured  to  look  into  their  depths ;  horrors  so  un- 
speakable that  I  could  put  no  word-shape  to  them. 
After  Ottilie's  messenger  had  failed  to  induce  me 
to  give  up  my  rights,  had  come  the  attempts  upon 
my  life,  then  the  duel.  The  mysterious  stranger 
who  had  sought  to  slay  me  with  such  rancorous 
hate,  and  had  called  "  Ottilie  "  into  my  dying  ears, 
had  returned  to  claim  his  bride,  and  they  had 


264  The  Pride  of  Jennlco 

wedded  in  their  blood-guilt.  Well  might  the  nurse 
cry  and  repeat  the  cry  of  "  God  in  heaven !  God 
in  heaven ! " 

What  new  ambush  would  they  now  contrive  ? 

"  Your  honour "  said  Janos,  and  he  put  his 

hand  respectfully  upon  my  sleeve.  I  caught  sight 
of  his  frightened  face  and  burst  into  a  fit  of  rasp- 
ing laughter. 

"  Look  at  your  master,  Janos,  and  see  the  great- 
est fool  in  Christendom !  The  fool  of  the  play, 
that  is  tricked  and  mocked  and  beaten  from  one 
act  to  another.  Tricked  into  marrying  a  serving- 
maid  instead  of  a  princess ;  tricked  into  loving  her 
when  he  should  have  repudiated  her  with  scorn ; 
abandoned  by  her  when  he  could  no  longer  live 
without  her ;  mocked  when  he  sought  his  wife ; 
driven  away  by  lackeys ;  stabbed  by  a  murdering 
hound,  a  skulking  thief  in  the  night!  .  .  .  But 
the  last  act  is  only  about  to  begin  —  every  one  has 
had  his  laugh  at  the  fool,  but  we  shall  see,  Janos, 
we  shall  see!  He  laughs  best  who  laughs  last, 
they  say.  Ten,  Schloss  Graben,  did  you  say  ?  " 

I  caught  my  cloak.  I  think  the  faithful  fellow 
actually  laid  hands  upon  me  to  arrest  me,  but 
I  broke  from  him  as  if  his  clasp  had  been  a 
straw. 

"  I'll  drive  my  sword,"  I  remember  saying,  "  into 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  26$ 

the  first  man  who  dares  come  between  me  and  my 
purpose." 

And  indeed  as  I  fled  along  the  street,  scarce 
knowing  what  way  I  took,  yet  going  as  straight 
as  a  die  to  my  goal,  I  had  no  other  thought  but 
how  clean  I  would  run  my  blade  through  the 
clumsy  lumbering  brute  who  deemed  he  had  so 
well  widowed  my  wife.  I  had  the  strength  of  ten 
men  in  me. 


CHAPTER   III 

WHEN  I  reached  the  Schloss  Graben  I  stood  a 
moment  to  reconnoitre,  and  found  myself  in  the 
same  still,  cobble-paved  road  where  I  had  met 
Anna  a  few  hours  before.  On  my  left  rose  the 
high  garden-walls  overtopped  by  a  web  of  bare  in- 
terlacing branches,  and  over  that  again  the  palace 
windows  and  its  mansard  roof;  on  my  right  the 
row  of  silent  brown  or  red  stone  houses,  well-to-do 
and  snugly  private,  with  beaten  iron  bars  to  the 
low  windows  and  great  scallop  shells  over  the 
doors.  This  was  the  house  down  the  stone  steps 
of  which  my  wife's  servant  had  come  this  morning, 
and  this  was  number  ten.  Of  course !  How  clear 
it  was  all  becoming  to  me!  I  dashed  the  sweat 
from  my  brow,  for  I  had  come  like  a  lamplighter. 
Then  I  tramped  up  the  three  steps  and  again 
halted  a  second.  How  quiet  the  house  was ! 

But  I  should  soon  put  some  bustle  into  it,  I  said 
to  myself,  and  smiled.  I  plied  the  knocker  till  the 
sleeping  echoes  awoke,  and  I  hung  on  the  iron 
rope  of  the  bell  till  the  shrill  protest  of  the  jingling 
peal  rang  out  into  the  street.  There  came  other 

266 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  267 

sounds  from  within  as  of  a  flutter  in  a  dovecot. 
Doors  were  opened  and  shut  precipitately.  A 
window  was  thrown  back  above  my  head;  there 
was  a  vision  of  a  white-capped  face  thrust  forward 
and  withdrawn ;  and,  indeed,  like  rabbits  from  a 
warren,  most,  I  believe,  of  the  idle  servants  in  the 
street  were  popping  out  to  see  whence  could  pro- 
ceed such  unholy  clangour. 

The  door  before  me  was  at  length  cautiously  and 
slowly  opened,  and  through  the  aperture  the  fright- 
ened, rose-red  face  of  a  maid  looked  out  at  me. 

I  saw  that  I  had  been  incautious,  and  therefore 
addressed  her  with  a  suave  mock  courtesy.  In- 
deed, now  that  the  actual  moment  had  come  I  felt 
stealing  over  me  a  very  deadly  calm. 

"Forgive  me,"  said  I,  "my  wench,  for  disturb- 
ing you  thus  rudely.  I  see  I  have  alarmed  you. 
These  are,  however,  but  old  soldiers'  ways,  which 
I  trust  your  good  mistress  will  pardon  to  an  old 
friend.  Your  mistress  is,  if  I  mistake  not,  now 
the  doctor's  lady.  But  when  I  knew  her  she  was 
Fraulein  Ottilie  Pahlen." 

The  girl's  mouth  had,  during  this  long  speech, 
which  in  my  new  mood  came  glibly  enough  to  my 
lips,  become  broadened  into  a  grin.  There  are 
very  few  girls  in  the  Empire,  I  have  been  told,  that 
will  not  feel  mollified  towards  a  soldier. 


268  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

"  Is  your  mistress  within  ? "  I  pursued. 

She  dropped  a  curtsey,  and  after  a  comprehen- 
sive glance  over  my  person  threw  open  the  door. 
Would  the  gentleman  walk  in  ?  She  brought  me 
through  a  brick-paved  hall  into  a  long  low  oak- 
panelled  room,  all  dark  and  yet  all  shining  with 
polish.  It  was  very  hot  from  a  high  china  stove. 

"  What  visitor  shall  I  announce  to  the  gracious 
lady?  "she  asked,  sidling  towards  me,  and  thrust- 
ing her  apple  face  as  forward  as  she  dared. 

"I  am  so  old  a  friend,  in  fact,  I  may  say  so 
near  a  connection,  that  I  should  like  to  give  your 
gracious  lady  a  pleasant  surprise,"  said  I ;  "  I  will 
not  therefore  give  my  name."  As  a  propitiatory 
after-thought,  I  pinched  the  hard  red  cheek  and 
dropped  a  coin  into  her  apron  pocket.  I  tried  to 
make  my  smile  very  sweet,  but  it  felt  stiff  upon 
my  lips.  She,  however,  saw  nought  amiss,  and 
pattered  out  well  content. 

Then  followed  a  few  minutes'  waiting ;  all  had 
grown  still  again  around  me.  Through  the  deep 
recessed  windows  I  looked  forth  into  a  little  court- 
yard with  one  bare  tree.  This,  then,  was  the  home 
Ottilie  had  chosen  instead  of  an  English  estate, 
instead  of  Tollendhal,  instead  of  all  I  could  offer 
her  in  courtly  Vienna  or  great  London !  How  she 
must  love  this  man !  Or  was  it  only  the  plebeian 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  269 

instinct  reasserting  itself  in  spite  of  all  ?  .  .  .  The 
Court  doctor's  lady ! 

I  heard  a  footfall  on  the  bare-boarded  stair,  and 
with  a  smile  that  was  this  time  the  natural  expres- 
sion of  the  complicated  bitterness  of  my  soul,  I 
moved  a  few  steps  so  as  to  place  myself  in  the 
best  light. 

My  wife  was,  perhaps,  still  in  ignorance  of  my 
escape  from  death.  Anna  had  not  yet  carried  her 
grievous  news  of  the  failure  of  their  endeavours. 
Indeed,  this  was  evident  from  the  general  placidity 
of  the  household,  as  well  as  the  staid  regularity  of 
the  approaching  steps.  To  witness  her  joy  at  the 
discovery  was  sufficient  revenge  for  the  moment. 
After  that  the  reckoning  would  be  with  —  well, 
with  my  successor. 

Such  was  the  state  of  my  thoughts  at  the  crucial 
moment  of  my  strange  story. 

I  have  said  that  I  was  calm,  but  during  the  little 
pause  that  took  place  between  the  cessation  of  the 
footsteps  and  the  turning  of  the  lock  I  could  hear 
the  beating  of  my  own  heart  like  the  measured 
roar  of  a  drum  in  battle. 

Then  was  the  door  opened,  and  before  me  stood 
1 — not  Ottilie,  who  had  been  my  Ottilie,  but  the 
other  Ottilie,  the  Princess !  She  was  advancing 
upon  me  with  the  old  well-remembered  gracious 


270  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

smile,  when  all  at  once  she  halted  with  much  the 
same  terror-stricken  look  with  which  Anna  earlier 
in  the  day  had  recognised  me,  and  clasped  her 
hands,  crying: 

"  God  be  merciful  to  us,  M.  de  Jennico ! "  and 
seemed  the  next  instant  ready  to  burst  into  tears. 

In  the  first  confusion  of  my  thoughts,  in  the 
rage  created  by  this  eternal  quid  pro  quo,  —  that  I 
should  ever  find  the  lady-in-waiting  when  I  wanted 
the  Princess,  and  the  Princess  when  I  wanted  the 
lady-in-waiting,  —  I  might  have  been  inclined  to 
think  that  Anna  had  after  all  spread  her  tidings, 
and  that  my  wife's  former  mistress  had  come  to  her 
aid  at  this  awkward  moment ;  but  the  surprise 
and  consternation  on  this  woman's  countenance 
were  too  genuine  to  have  been  counterfeit. 

Whatever  reason  brought  the  Princess  here  I 
was  in  no  humour  to  inquire. 

"  I  came  to  see  my  wife,  Madam,"  said  I,  "  and 
not  to  presume  upon  your  Highness's  condescen- 
sion. I  am  determined  to  see  my  wife,"  I  insisted; 
"  that  Ottilie  Pahlen,  who  was  your  maid  of  hon- 
our, and  lived  with  me  as  my  wife  for  a  month,  as 
your  Highness  well  knows,  and  who  was  in  such 
haste  to  wed  this  Court  doctor  of  yours  at  the  first 
rumour  of  her  husband's  death." 

I  spoke  in  a  very  uncourtier-like  rage.     But  she 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  271 

whom  I  addressed  showed  neither  anger  nor  as- 
tonishment, but  sank  into  the  nearest  chair,  a  mere 
heap  of  soft  distressed  womanhood,  wringing  her 
plump  dimpled  hands,  while  tears  of  extraordinary 
size  suffused  her  eyes  and  overflowed  upon  her 
cheeks. 

At  sight  of  this  my  heat  fell  away ;  I  threw  my- 
self on  my  knees  beside  her,  and,  all  forgetful  of 
the  distance  between  us,  took  one  of  her  hands  in 
mine  and  poured  forth  an  appeal. 

"  You  were  always  kind  to  me ;  be  kind  now.  I 
must  see  my  wife.  I  have  been  cruelly  treated  ;  I 
am  surrounded  with  enemies;  be  you  my  friend  !  " 

She  leant  forward  and  looked  at  me  earnestly 
with  swimming  eyes. 

"Is  it  possible,"  she  exclaimed  —  "is  it  possible, 
M.  de  Jennico,  that  you  have  not  found  out  yet? 
.  .  .  that  you  do  not  suspect  ?  .  .  ." 

Even  as  she  spoke,  and  while  I  knelt  looking 
up  at  her,  the  scales  fell  from  my  eyes.  I  needed 
no  further  word.  I  knew.  How  was  it  possible, 
indeed,  that  I  should  not  have  known  before? 
I  saw  as  in  a  flash  that  this  comely  burgher 
woman  was  not,  had  never  been,  never  could 
have  been,  the  Princess.  I  saw  that  the  hand  I 
still  unconsciously  held  bore  marks  of  household 
toil,  that  on  the  third  finger  glittered  a  new  wed- 


272  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

ding  ring.  Then  a  thousand  memories  rushed 
into  my  mind,  a  thousand  confirmatory  details. 
Oh,  blind  —  blind  —  blind  that  I  had  been  — 
fool,  and  worse  than  fool!  The  mystery  of  my 
wife's  mocking  smile ;  the  secret  that  had  so  often 
hung  unspoken  on  her  lips;  her  careless  pretty 
ways ;  the  depth  of  her  injured  pride ;  and  then 
the  manner  in  which  she  had  been  guarded  from 
me,  the  force  employed  against  me,  the  secret 
diplomatic  attempts  to  free  her,  followed,  on  their 
failure,  by  the  relentless  determination  to  do  away 
with  me  altogether!  Before  my  reeling  brain  it 
all  rose  into  towering  conviction  —  a  joy,  a  sorrow, 
both  too  keen  for  humanity  to  bear,  seized  upon 
my  weakened  frame.  I  heard  as  if  in  the  far  dis- 
tance the  words  the  woman  near  me  was  saying : 

"  It  all  began  by  a  freak  of  her  Highness,  ..." 
and  with  the  echo  of  them  whirling  as  it  were  in 
a  mad  dance  through  my  brain  to  the  sound  of 
thundering  cataracts,  a  whirlpool  of  flame  spread- 
ing before  my  eyes,  I  fell  with  a  crash,  as  it 
seemed,  into  a  yawning  black  abyss. 

When  I  again  came  to  myself  the  cold  air  was 
blowing  in  upon  me  through  the  open  casement, 
and  I  was  stretched  full  length  on  a  hard  floor, 
in  what  seemed  a  perfect  deluge  of  the  very 
Strongest  vinegar  I  have  ever  smelt.  At  one  side 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  273 

of  me  knelt  my  hostess,  her  healthy  face  blanched 
almost  beyond  recognition.  On  the  other,  between 
my  wandering  gaze  and  the  window,  swam  the 
visage  of  the  maid,  eyes  and  mouth  as  round  as 
horror  could  make  them,  but  with  cheeks  the 
ruddiness  of  which,  it  seemed,  no  emotion  could 
mitigate. 

Both  my  kind  attendants  gave  a  cry  as  I  opened 
my  eyes. 

"  He  is  recovering,  Trude,"  said  Madam  Loth- 
ner  (to  call  her  now  by  her  proper  name). 

"  Ah !  gracious  lady,"  answered  the  wench  in 
an  unctuous  tone  of  importance;  "his  face  is 
still  as  red  as  the  beet  I  was  pickling  when  I 
heard  you  scream  —  would  God  the  master  were 
here  to  bleed  him.  Shall  I  send  into  the  town  to 
seek  him  ? " 

"  God  forbid ! "  cried  her  mistress,  in  a  hasty 
and  peremptory  tone.  "  No,  I  tell  you,  Trude,  he 
is  recovering,  and  I  have  not  been  a  doctor's  wife 
these  six  weeks  for  nothing.  The  flush  is  fading 
even  as  I  look  at  him.  See  thee  here,  fetch  me 
some  of  the  cordial  water." 

I  do  not  know  how  far  her  six  weeks'  associa- 
tion with  the  medical  luminary,  her  husband,  had 
profited  Madam  Lothner.  I  have  since  been  told 
that  her  administration  of  cordial,  immediately 


274  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

upon  such  a  blood  stroke  to  the  head  as  mine, 
ought  really  to  have  finished  me  off.  But  as  it 
happened  it  did  me  a  vast  deal  of  good,  and  I 
was  soon  able  to  shake  off  the  giddiness,  the 
sickness,  and  the  general  confusion  of  my  system. 

With  recovered  wits  it  gradually  became  appar- 
ent to  me  that  while  Madam  Lothner  continued 
to  ply  me  with  every  assistance  she  could  think 
of,  regarding  me  with  eyes  in  which  shone  most 
kindly  and  womanly  benevolence,  her  chief  anxiety 
nevertheless  was  to  get  rid  of  me  with  all  possible 
despatch. 

But  I  was  not  likely  to  give  up  such  an  oppor- 
tunity. The  chaos  in  my  mind  consequent  upon 
the  unexpected  revelation,  and  its  disastrous  physi- 
cal effect,  was  such  as  to  render  me  no  very  cohe- 
rent inquisitor.  Nevertheless,  the  determination 
to  learn  all  that  this  woman  could  tell  me  about 
my  wife  rose  predominant  above  the  seething  of 
my  thoughts. 

Ottilie,  my  wife,  was  Ottilie  the  Princess  after 
all !  I  had  felt  the  truth  before  it  had  been  told 
me.  But  whilst  they  removed  an  agonising  sup- 
position, these  struck  me  nevertheless  as  strange 
unhomely  tidings  which  opened  fresh  difficulties 
in  my  path  —  difficulties  the  full  import  of  which 
were  every  second  more  strongly  borne  upon  me. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  275 

Ottilie  the  Princess !  .  .  .  Everything  was  changed, 
and  the  relentless  attitude  of  the  Princess  bore  a 
very  different  aspect  to  the  mere  resentment  of 
the  injured  wife.  When  my  letters  had  been 
flung  back  in  my  face,  when  I  had  been  kid- 
napped and  expelled  the  country,  it  had  been 
then  by  her  orders.  She  had  sent  to  demand 
the  divorce.  Who  had  set  the  bravo  on  my 
track?  By  whose  wish  had  my  life  been  so 
basely,  so  persistently,  attempted?  By  hers  — 
Ottilie,  the  Princess?  A  Princess  who  had  re- 
pented of  her  freak,  whose  pride,  whose  reputa- 
tion, had  suffered  from  the  stigma  of  an  unequal 
match. 

The  man  whose  sword  had  twice  passed  through 
my  body  had  called  out,  "  Ha !  Ottilie  !  "  Who 
dare  call  on  a  Princess  thus  save  her  kinsman  or 
—  her  lover  ? 

I  felt  the  blood  surge  through  me  again,  but 
this  time  in  my  anger  it  brought  a  sense  of 
courage  and  strength.  I  interrupted  Madam 
Lothner  as,  with  a  joyful  exclamation  that  I 
was  now  quite  restored,  she  was  about  to  issue 
an  order  for  the  summary  fetching  of  a  hired 
coach. 

"  Let  your  maid  go,"  said  I  authoritatively,  "  but 
not  for  a  coach.  I  have  yet  much  to  say  to  you." 


276  The  Pride  of  Jennko 

I  was  without  pity  for  the  distress  this  demand 
occasioned,  deaf  to  the  hurried  whisper : 

"  For  pity's  sake,  go  now  that  you  can.  You  are 
in  danger  here.  Think  of  yourself,  if  you  will  not 
think  of  me !  " 

"  I  can  think  of  but  one  person,"  said  I  harshly. 
"I  have  come  a  thousand  miles  to  learn  things 
which  I  know  you  can  tell  me,  and  here  I  remain 
until  I  have  heard  them.  Any  delay  on  your 
side  will  only  prolong  the  danger,  since  danger 
there  be." 

She  looked  up  in  tearful  pleading,  met  my  obsti- 
nate gaze,  and  instantly  submitted — a  woman  born 
to  be  ruled. 

"  Go,  Trude,"  she  said  faintly,  "  and  warn  me  if 
you  see  your  master  coming.  What  will  she  think 
of  me  ? "  sighed  the  poor  lady  as  the  door  closed 
upon  an  awe-struck  but  evidently  suspicious  Trude. 
"  But  no  matter,  better  that  just  now  than  the 
truth.  Now,  sir,  for  God's  sake,  what  is  it  you 
would  have  of  me  ? " 

"  Let  me  go  back,"  said  I,  "  to  the  beginning. 
When  I  married  .  .  .  my  wife  at  Tollendhal,  she 
was  then,  for  a  freak  as  you  say,  acting  the  lady- 
in-waiting,  while  you  assumed  her  r61e  of  Prin- 
cess?" 

"It  is  so,"  said  Madam  Lothner,  "but  I  never 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  277 

knew  till  the  deed  was  accomplished  to  what  length 
her  Highness  had  chosen  to  push  her  folly.  I 
could  not  then  attempt  to  interfere  or  advise,  still 
less  could  I  be  the  person  to  send  tidings  to  the 
Court." 

"  So  ? "  said  I,  as  she  paused. 

"  So,"  said  she,  "  in  great  fear  and  trembling,  I 
deemed  it  best  to  obey  her  Highness's  strict  com- 
mand, and  await  events  at  the  Castle  of  Schreck- 
endorf,  still  in  my  assumed  part." 

"  But  when  my  wife  returned  to  you,"  I  said, 
and  my  voice  shook,  "  returned  to  you  in  a  peas- 
ant's cart,  —  oh,  I  know  all  about  it,  Madam,  I 
know  that  I  drove  her  forth  through  the  most 
insensate  pride  that  ever  lost  soul  its  paradise, — 
when  she  returned,  the  truth  must  have  already 
been  known?" 

"Ach,  yes,"  murmured  the  sentimental  Saxon, 
her  eyes  watering  with  very  sympathy  at  the  sight 
of  my  bitter  self-reproach.  "  Yes,  it  was  because 
of  rumours  which  had  already  reached  the  resi- 
dence (from  your  friends  in  England,  I  believe), 
that  his  Serene  Highness  the  Duke  sent  in  such 
haste  to  recall  us.  He  would  not  come  himself 
for  fear  of  giving  weight  to  the  scandal.  But 
it  was  her  Highness  who  chose  to  confirm  the 
report." 


278  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

"  How  ? "  cried  I  eagerly. 

"  Why,  sir,"  answered  the  doctor's  lady,  flowing 
on  not  unwillingly  in  her  soft  guttural,  though 
visibly  perturbed  nevertheless,  and  now  and  again 
anxiously  alive  to  any  sound  without  —  "  why,  sir, 
her  Highness  having  returned  to  Schreckendorf 
before  the  arrival  of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
from  Lausitz,  and  being,  it  seemed,  determined  " 
—  here  she  hesitated  and  glanced  at  me  timidly  — 
"  determined  not  to  return  to  Tollendhal  ever  again, 
her  Highness  might  easily,  had  she  wished,  have 
denied  the  whole  story.  And  indeed,"  continued 
the  speaker  with  a  shrewdness  I  would  not  have 
given  her  credit  for,  "had  she  so  behaved  it 
would  have  best  pleased  her  relations.  But  she 
was  not  so  made." 

"Ah,  no  indeed,"  said  I,  "her  pride  would  not 
stoop  to  that." 

"You  are  right,"  said  Madam  Lothner,  with  a 
sigh,  "  she  is  very  proud.  She  was  calm  and 
seemed  to  have  quite  made  up  her  mind.  '  I  will 
give  no  explanation  to  any  one,'  she  said  to  me, 
4  and  I  recognise  in  no  one  the  right  to  question 
me.  But  my  father  shall  know  that  I  am  married, 
and  that  I  am  separated  from  my  husband  for  ever. 
I  am  not  the  first  woman  of  my  rank  on  whom 
such  a  fate  has  fallen.'  That  was  her  attitude." 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  279 

And  here  the  good  creature  broke  forth  as  if  in 
spite  of  herself  with  passionate  expostulation. 

"  Ah,  M.  de  Jennico,  but  she  suffered !  Oh,  if 
you  would  atone,  leave  her  now,  leave  her  at  least 
in  peace !  You  have  brought  enough  sorrow  al- 
ready into  her  life.  Ach  !  I  do  not  know  how  it 
has  been  between  you;  but  now  that  she  thinks 
you  dead,  for  God's  sake  let  it  be !  " 

"  By  Heaven,  Madam,"  cried  I,  half  mad,  I  be- 
lieve, between  pain,  remorse,  and  fury,  "  these  are 
strange  counsels !  Do  you  forget  that  we  are  man 
and  wife,  and  this  by  her  own  doing  ?  But  truly 
I  need  not  be  surprised,  for  you  do  not  hesitate 
before  crime  at  the  Court  of  Lausitz,  and  if  mur- 
der be  so  lightly  condoned,  sure  it  is  that  bigamy 
must  seem  a  very  peccadillo." 

Madam  Lothner  stared  at  me  with  startled  eyes 
and  dropping  jaw. 

"  Murder,"  she  whispered,  "  M.  de  Jennico ! 
what  terrible  thing  do  you  say  ? " 

Then  she  put  her  hand  to  her  head,  ejaculating : 
"True,  it  was  the  Margrave  himself  who  brought 
us  news  of  your  death  on  his  return  from  England. 
It  was  in  the  English  papers.  I  feared  I  know 
not  what,  but  this  —  this  —  God  save  us !  " 

I  looked  at  her  in  fresh  bewilderment.  She 
was  as  one  seized  by  overwhelming  terror.  I  felt 


28o  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

that  her  emotion  had  its  origin  in  causes  stili 
unknown  to  me. 

"  And  who  is  the  Margrave  ? "  I  cried  quickly. 

She  lowered  her  voice  to  the  barest  breath  of 
sound,  and  glanced  fearfully  over  her  shoulder  as 
if  afraid  of  eavesdroppers  even  in  this  retired 
room. 

"Prince  Eugen,  as  they  call  him,"  she  said, 
"one  of  her  Highness's  cousins.  He  has,  I  do  not 
quite  know  how,  hopes  of  sovereignty  in  Poland, 
and  they  were  to  have  been  married :  it  was  her 
father's  wish,  and  it  is  so  still." 

I  sprang  up  with  an  imprecation,  but  the  lady 
almost  flung  herself  upon  me,  and  clapped  her 
hand  over  my  mouth. 

"In  the  name  of  God,"  she  said,  "be  still,  or 
you  will  ruin  us !  My  husband  is  his  most  devoted 
adherent.  In  this  house  he  rules,  and  we  bow  to 
the  earth  before  him." 

I  sank  back  into  my  seat,  docile,  in  spite  of  my- 
self, impressed  by  the  strength  of  her  fear.  New 
trains  of  revelations  crowded  upon  me.  Eugen  of 
Liegnitz-Rothenburg — Rothenburg — Ville-Rouge 
—  I  saw  it  all ! 

She  went  on,  bringing  her  mouth  close  to  my 
ear: 

"The  Princess  hated  him,  and  indeed  he  has 


The  Pnde  of  Jennico  281 

grown  into  a  strange  and  terrifying  man,  so  oddly 
impulsive,  cruel,  wilful,  vindictive.  He  always 
professed  to  love  the  Princess,  but  I  cannot  but 
think  that  it  was  the  love  of  taming — he  would 
dearly  love  to  break  her,  just  as  he  loves  to- 
break  the  proudest-spirited  horse.  His  grey  eye 
makes  me  grow  cold.  As  I  said,  from  a  child 
she  hated  him,  and  it  was  for  that  —  having  seen 
one  whom  she  thought  she  could  love  .  .  ."  Here 
she  paused,  and  glanced  at  me,  and  hesitated. 

It  was  for  that.  I  remembered.  She  had  told 
me  of  the  unhappy  fate  that  threatened  "the 
Princess"  that  evening  when  we  met  under  the 
fir-trees  to  decide  upon  my  crazy  match,  and  when, 
as  I  had  deemed,  she  had  fooled  me  to  the  top  of 
my  bent.  She  had  spoken  in  tones  of  scathing 
contempt  and  hatred  of  some  cavalier.  And  now  ? 
Suddenly  gripped  by  the  old  devil  of  doubt  and 
jealousy,  I  cried  out,  "And  now,  after  all,  the  fate 
of  being  wedded  to  an  obscure  gentleman  seems 
to  her  more  dreadful  than  that  of  sharing  her 
place  with  her  cousin,  and  the  peculiar  qualities 
of  the  hated  relative  have  been  very  usefully  em- 
ployed in  ridding  her  of  the  inconvenient  husband  ? 
Oh,  Madam,  of  course  you  know  your  Court  of 
Lausitz,  and  I  think  I  begin  to  see  your  drift : 
you  think,  in  your  amiability,  that  it  would  be 


282  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

preferable  to  see  your  mistress  bigamously  united, 
than  that  she  should  legitimise  her  position  by  yet 
another  and  more  successful  attempt  at  assassina- 
tion." 

"  I  fail  to  understand  you,  sir,"  drawing  back 
from  me,  nevertheless,  with  a  glance  of  mistrust 
and  indignation. 

"  I  will  be  plain,"  said  I :  "  when  the  Princess, 
who  is  my  wife,  left  me,  —  I  will  own  I  bear  some 
blame,  but  then  I  had  been  strangely  played  with, 
—  she  had  doubtless  already  begun  to  repent  what 
you  call  her  freak.  When  I  followed  her  and 
implored  her  forgiveness,  —  you  yourself  know  all 
about  it,  Madam,  for  you  must  have  acted  under 
her  orders,  —  she  flung  back  my  letters,  through 
your  agency,  with  a  contemptuous  denial  of  any 
knowledge  of  such  a  person  as  M.  de  Jennico. 
When  I  wrote  to  her,  her  whom  I  believed  to 
bear  your  name,  a  pleading,  abject  letter,  for 
I  was  still  but  a  poor  loving  fool,  her  only 
answer  was  to  have  me  seized  and  driven  from 
the  country  like  a  criminal.  Later  on,  when  I 
refused  to  be  a  party  to  her  petition  for  divorce, 
she  thought,  no  doubt,  she  had  given  me  chances 
enough,  and  this  time  she  deputed  the  noble 
bully,  her  cousin,  to  manage  the  matter  in  his 
own  fashion.  My  life  was  attempted  five  times, 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  283 

Madam.  And  when  it  all  failed,  —  your  Prince 
Eugen,  you  tell  me,  he  was  in  England,  and  there 
was  a  certain  great  bulky  Chevalier  de  Ville- 
Rouge,  who  particularly  sought  my  acquaintance 
—  'tis  he,  is  it  not  ?  —  your  Prince  Eugen  hon- 
oured me  by  seeking  a  duello,  and  by  running  his 
august  sword  through  my  common  body,  and  that 
more  often,  be  it  said,  than  custom  sanctions  in 
honourable  encounters.  I  was  given  for  dead. 
No  wonder!  It  seems  to  be  the  sport  of  hell  to 
keep  me  alive.  I  can  scarce  think  it  is  the  will 
of  Heaven." 

Madam  Lothner  had  followed  my  tirade  with 
what  appeared  the  most  conflicting  sentiments : 
blank  astonishment,  horror,  indignation.  It  was 
the  last,  however,  that  predominated.  Her  coun- 
tenance became  suffused  with  crimson;  her  blue 
eyes  flashed  a  fire  I  had  not  deemed  them  capable 
of  harbouring ;  she  forgot  the  precautions  she  her- 
self had  so  strenuously  enjoined. 

"And  do  you  dare,  sir,"  cried  she,  "accuse  my 
mistress  of  these  things  —  you,  whom  she  loved  ? 
You  knew  her  as  your  wife  for  four  weeks,  and 
yet  you  know  her  so  little  as  to  believe  her  plot- 
ting your  death !  Those  letters,  sir,  you  speak  of, 
she  never  received,  nor  did  I,  nor  did  she  nor  I 
ever  hear  of  your  presence  in  this  land.  Tis 


284  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

true  that  after  you  had  left,  —  for  you  left  her 
first,  remember,  —  after  well-nigh  a  year  without 
tidings  of  you,  she  did  herself  send  to  you  to 
request  the  annulment  of  the  marriage.  It  was 
to  free  you  because  she  believed  you  repented  of  it, 
and  she  felt  she  had  entrapped  you  into  it.  And 
when,  sir,  you  refused,  she  had  hope  again  in  her 
heart,  for  she  loved  you.  And  she  suffered  perse- 
cution on  your  account,  and  was  kept  and  watched 
like  a  state  prisoner  —  she  that  had  always  lived 
for  the  free  air,  and  for  her  own  way.  They  were 
cruel  to  her,  and  put  dreadful  pressure  upon  her 
that  she  should  make  her  appeal  alone  to  the 
Pope.  But  she  held  firm,  and  bore  it  all  in  silence, 
and  lived  surrounded  by  spies,  her  old  friends  and 
old  servants  banished  from  her  sight,  until  the 
news  came  that  you  were  dead.  Then  .  .  .  ah, 
then,  she  mourned  as  never  a  woman  mourned 
yet  for  her  first  and  only  love !  As  to  marriage 
—  what  dreadful  things  have  you  been  saying  ? 
Her  Highness  will  never  marry  again.  She  will 
be  faithful  as  long  as  she  lives  to  you,  whom  she 
believes  dead.  And  God  forbid  it  should  be  other- 
wise, for  Prince  Eugen  would  wed  her  from  no 
love,  I  believe,  but  solely  to  punish  her  for  resist- 
ing him  so  long,  to  break  her  to  his  will  at  last, 
and  triumph  over  her.  Oh,  no,  she  would  never 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  285 

wed  again !  You  must  believe  me,  for  I  have  been 
with  her  through  it  all,  and  though  she  would 
mock  me  and  laugh  at  me  once,  she  turned  to 

me  afterwards  as  to  her  only  friend Get  up, 

M.  de  Jennico,  get  up !  Ach  Gott !  what  a  coil 
this  is !  My  good  sir,  get  up ;  think  if  the  doctor 
were  to  come  in !  Ach  Gott !  what  is  that  you 
say  ?  Nay,  I  have  been  a  fool,  and  this  is  the 
worst  of  all.  My  poor  friend,  there  is  no  room  for 
happiness  here ! " 

For  I  had  fallen  at  her  feet  again,  and  was 
covering  her  hand  with  kisses,  blessing  her  with 
tears,  I  believe,  for  the  happiness  of  this  moment. 

She  ended,  good  soul,  by  weeping  with  me,  or 
rather,  over  the  pity  of  the  joy  that  was  doomed, 
as  she  thought,  to  such  brief  duration. 

"  Oh,  you  are  mad,  you  are  mad ! "  she  said,  as 
I  poured  forth  I  know  not  what  extravagant  plans. 
Ottilie  loved  me,  cried  I  in  the  depths  of  my  ex- 
ultant soul :  what  could  be  difficult  now  ?  "  You 
are  mad !  Have  you  not  yet  learned  your  lesson  ? 
Do  you  not  understand  that  they  will  never,  never 
let  you  have  her?  Go  back  to  your  home,  sir, 
and  if  you  love  her  never  let  her  know  you  are 
still  alive,  for  if  they  heard  it  here,  God  knows 
what  she  would  be  put  to  bear ;  and  if  she  knew 
they  had  tried  to  murder  you,  it  would  kill  her. 


286  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

I  tell  you,  sir,  a  Court  is  a  dreadful  place,  and 
Prince  Eugen,  you  know  what  he  is,  and  his 
Serene  Highness  himself,  he  is  hard  as  the  stones 
of  the  street.  You  have  seen  what  they  have 
done  —  no  law  can  reach  them !  They  will  not 

fail  again.  And  if  a  second  scandal "  she 

paused,  hesitated,  shuddered,  then  bending  over 
to  me  she  whispered,  half  inarticulately,  "if  a 
second  scandal  came  to  pass,  who  knows  what 
forfeit  she  might  not  have  to  pay ! " 

But  I  rose,  clasped  her  two  hands,  and  looked  into 
her  eyes  with  all  the  bold  joy  that  filled  my  heart 

"My  kind  friend,"  I  said,  "you  cannot  frighten 
me  now.  Keep  you  but  our  secret,  and  you  will 
yet  see  your  mistress  happy."  I  wrung  her  hands, 
and  hurried  to  the  door,  as  eager  now  to  be  gone 
as  I  had  been  to  enter.  I  must  act,  and  act  at 
once,  and  there  was  much  to  do. 

She  followed  me,  lamenting  and  entreating,  to 
the  steps,  where  stood  faithful  Trude,  with  gar- 
ments blown  about  in  the  cold  wind.  But,  as  I 
turned  to  take  a  last  farewell,  my  hostess  caught 
me  by  the  sleeve. 

"  Keep  close,"  she  said,  "  keep  close ;  and  if  you 

are  hurt,  if  you  are  ill "  she  hesitated  a  second, 

then  leaned  forward  and  breathed  into  my  ear, 
"do  not  send  for  the  Court  doctor." 


CHAPTER   IV 

I  RUSHED  out  into  the  street,  treading  as  if  on 
air,  my  cloak  floating  behind  me,  my  head  thrown 
back,  all  warnings  unheeded  in  the  first  overpower- 
ing tide  of  this  joy  which  had  come  upon  me  at  the 
darkest  hour  of  all. 

I  had  told  myself  that  I  must  act,  and  act  at 
once.  But  till  I  had  had  a  moment's  breathing 
time  to  realise  the  extraordinary  revelations  by 
which  the  whole  face  of  the  past  and  of  the 
future  was  changed  to  me,  I  could  form  no 
coherent  thought,  much  less  could  I  form  plans. 

I  wanted  space  for  this  —  space  and  solitude. 
And  so  I  hurried  along  as  I  have  described, 
looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  when 
I  was  seized  upon  from  behind,  and  by  no  means 
gentle  hands  brought  me  first  to  a  standstill,  and 
next  threw  the  folds  of  my  cloak  around  me  in 
such  a  fashion  as  once  more  to  cover  my  face. 

"  Are  you  mad  ? "  said  Janos,  with  a  fiercer 
display  of  anger  than  I  had  ever  known  him 
show  to  me,  though  he  had  marshalled  me  pretty 
rigidly  through  my  illness.  "I  have  been  fol- 

287 


288  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

lowing  you  these  five  minutes,  and  all  the  town 
stares  at  your  honour.  'Tis  lucky  you  took  a  side 
turning  just  now  or  you  would  have  been  straight 
into  the  great  place,  perhaps  into  the  main  guard. 
If  you  want  to  look  for  death,  you  can  go  to  the 
wars  like  my  old  master,  but  'tis  an  ill  thing  to  find 
it  in  the  assassin's  blade,  as  I  thought  you  had 
learned  by  now.  Do  you  forget,"  continued  Janos, 
scolding  more  vehemently,  "that  they  are  all 
leagued  against  you  in  this  country  ?  Do  you  for- 
get how  they  packed  you  out  of  the  land  last  year, 
and  warned  you  never  to  return  ?  'Tis  very  well 
to  risk  one's  life,  but  'tis  ill  to  throw  it  away." 

"  Oh,  Janos,  true  soul,"  said  I,  as  soon  as  I  could 
get  air  to  speak  with,  for  his  grasp  upon  the  folds  of 
my  cloak  was  like  an  iron  clamp,  "  all  is  changed, 
all  is  explained.  You  saw  me  last  the  most  miser- 
able of  men  :  you  see  me  now  the  happiest !  " 

We  had  paused  in  a  deserted  alley  leading  into 
the  gardens  on  the  ramparts.  As  I  looked  round 
I  saw  that  the  sky  had  grown  darkly  overcast,  and 
by  Jdnos's  pinched  face,  as  well  as  by  the  bowing 
and  bending  of  the  trees,  that  the  wind  had  risen 
strong  and  cold.  To  me  it  might  have  been  the 
softest  breeze  of  spring.  I  drew  the  man  over  to  a 
bench  all  frosted  already  by  tiny  flakes  which  fell 
persistently,  yet  sparsely,  and  there  I  told  him  my 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  289 

tale  of  joy.  He  listened,  blinking  and  grinning. 
At  length  when  it  was  duly  borne  in  upon  him  that 
the  wife  I  was  seeking  was  really  and  actually  the 
Princess  of  the  land,  he  clasped  his  hands  and 
cried  with  a  certain  savage  enthusiasm : 

"  Oh,  that  my  old  master  had  lived  to  see  the 
day !  "  But  the  next  instant  the  bristling  difficul- 
ties of  the  situation  began  to  oppress  his  aged 
heart.  He  pondered  with  a  falling  face. 

"Then  your  honour  is  in  even  greater  danger 
than  I  had  thought,"  said  he,  "  and  every  second 
he  passes  in  this  town  of  cut-throats  adds  to  the 
risk." 

"  Even  so,"  said  I,  clapping  him  on  the  shoulders, 
my  spirits  rising  higher,  it  seemed,  with  every  fresh 
attempt  to  depress  them,  —  "  Even  so,  my  good 
fellow;  and  therefore  since  my  wife  I  mean  to 
have,  and  since  I  mean  to  live  to  be  happy  with 
her,  what  say  you  to  our  carrying  her  off  this  very 
night  ? " 

He  made  no  outcry :  he  knew  the  breed  (he 
himself  had  said  it)  too  well.  As  you  may  see 
a  dog  watch  his  master's  signal  to  dash  after 
the  prey,  wagging  his  tail  faintly  the  while,  so 
the  fellow  turned  and  fixed  me. 

"  And  how  will  your  honour  do  it  ? "  said  he 
without  a  protest. 


290  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

"  How  ? "  said  I,  and  laughed  aloud ;  "  by  my 
soul  I  know  not!  I  know  nothing  yet,  but  we  will 
home  to  the  inn  and  deliberate.  There  is  nought 
so  difficult  but  love  will  find  the  way,  and  Romeos 
will  scale  walls  to  reach  their  Juliets  so  long  as 
this  old  world  lasts." 

I  rose  as  I  spoke,  and  so  did  Janos,  shaking  the 
snow  from  his  bent  shoulders. 

"  I  know  nothing  of  the  gentlemen  your  honour 
speaks  of,  nor  of  the  ladies,  but  my  old  master, 
your  honour's  uncle,  did  things  in  his  days.  .  .  . 
God  forgive  me  that  I  should  remember  them 
against  a  holy  soul  in  heaven !  There  was  a  time 
when  he  kept  a  whole  siege  (it  was  before  Reichen- 
berg  in  '59) — a  whole  siege  waiting,  ordered  a  ces- 
sation of  fire  for  a  night,  that  he  might  visit  some 
lady  in  the  town.  He  was  the  general  of  the  be- 
sieging army,  and  he  could  order  as  he  pleased.  By 
Saint  Stephen,  he  got  into  the  town  somehow  .  .  . 
and  I  with  him  .  .  .  and  next  morning  we  got  out 
again !  No  one  knew  where  we  had  been  but 
himself,  and  myself,  and  herself  —  he,  he!  —  and 
before  midday  we  had  that  town." 

"Fie,  fie,  Janos,"  said  I,  "these  are  sad  tales  of 
a  field-marshal;  let  us  hope  my  good  aunt  never 
heard  them." 

"  Her  Excellency,"  said  Janos,  and  crossed  him- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  291 

self,  "  would  have  gloried  in  the  deed.  But,  your 
honour,  we  have  the  heavens  against  us  to-night ; 
I  have  not  seen  a  sky  look  blacker,  even  in  Eng- 
land, since  the  great  storm  at  Tollendhal.  ... 
Ah,  your  honour  remembers  when." 

"All  the  better,"  said  I,  as  we  turned  the  corner ; 
"  a  stormy  night  is  the  best  of  nights  for  a  bold 
deed." 

And  I  thought  within  myself :  "  I  lost  her  in  the 
storm ;  in  the  storm  shall  I  find  her  again."  Thus 
does  a  glad  heart  frame  his  own  omen. 

It  was  all  very  fine  to  talk  of  carrying  off  my 
wife  in  such  fashion;  but  when,  seated  together 
near  the  fire  in  my  room,  talking  in  whispers  so 
that  not  even  the  great  stove  door  could  catch  the 
meaning  of  our  conclave,  Janos  and  I  discussed 
our  plans,  we  found  that  everything  fell  before  the 
insuperable  difficulty  of  our  ignorance  of  the  to- 
pography of  the  palace.  There  seemed  nothing 
for  it  but  to  endeavour  to  interview  Anna  once 
more,  dangerous  as  the  process  might  be.  And  we 
were  already  discussing  in  what  character  Janos 
should  present  himself,  when  Fortune  —  that  jade 
that  had  long  turned  so  cold  a  shoulder  upon  me 
—  came  to  the  rescue  in  the  person  of  the  good 
woman  herself.  There  was  a  hard  knock  at  the 
door,  which  made  us  both,  conspirators  as  we 


292  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

were,  jump  apart,  and  I  involuntarily  felt  for  the 
pistol  in  my  coat  skirts,  whilst  Janos  stalked  to 
open. 

And  there  stood  the  lank  black  figure  which  had 
once  seemed  to  cast  a  sort  of  shadow  on  my  young 
delight,  but  which  now  I  greeted  as  that  of  an 
angel  of  deliverance.  She  loved  her  mistress,  her 
mistress  loved  me  —  what  could  she  do  me  then 
but  good  ? 

I  sprang  forward  and  drew  her  in  by  both  hands. 
She  threw  back  the  folds  of  her  hood  and  looked 
round  upon  us,  and  her  grim  anxious  countenance 
relaxed  into  something  like  a  smile.  Then  she 
dropped  me  a  stiff  curtsey,  and  coming  close  to 
my  ear: 

"  I  gave  my  mistress  the  gracious  master's  let- 
ter," she  said,  and  paused.  I  seized  upon  her 
hand  again. 

"  Oh,  Anna,  dear  Anna,  how  is  she  ?  How  did 
she  take  it?  Was  she  much  concerned?  Was 
she  .  .  ."I  hesitated,  "was  she  glad  to  learn  I 
am  not  dead?" 

The  woman's  eyes  looked  as  if  they  would  fain 
speak  volumes,  but  her  taciturn  tongue  gave 
utterance  to  few  words. 

"My  mistress,"  she  said,  "wept  much,  and 
thanked  God."  That  was  all,  but  I  was  satisfied. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  293 

"  She  is  in  much  fear  for  you,"  the  messenger 
went  on  after  a  pause.  "She  bade  me  say  she 
dared  not  write  because  of  the  danger  to  you; 
she  bade  me  say  that  the  danger  is  greater  than 
you  know  of;  that  your  enemies  are  other  than 
you  think.  Now  they  believe  you  dead,  blit  you 
may  be  recognised.  And  you  were  out  to-day 
again ! "  said  Anna,  suddenly  dropping  the  sing- 
song whisper  of  her  recitation  and  turning  upon 
me  sternly  with  uplifted  finger.  "Out,  in  spite 
of  my  warning !  I  know,  for  I  came  to  the  inn  to 
find  you.  All  this  is  foolish." 

"And  this  is  the  end  of  your  message?"  said 
I,  who  had  been  drinking  in  every  word  my  wife's 
sweet  lips  had  so  sweetly  spoken  for  me.  "Was 
there  nothing  else  ? "  said  I  again,  for  my  soul 
hungered  for  a  further  sign  of  love. 

"There  was  one  thing  more,"  said  Anna  in  her 
stolid  way :  "  she  bade  me  say  she  would  contrive 
to  see  you  somehow  soon,  but  that  as  you  love 
her  you  must  keep  hidden." 

I  shut  my  eyes  for  a  second  to  taste  in  the 
secret  of  my  heart  the  honeyed  savour  of  that 
little  phrase  that  meant  so  much :  "  as  you  love 
me  !  "  for  there  rang  the  unmistakable  appeal  of 
love  to  love!  And  I  smiled  to  think  that  she  still 
reserved  the  telling  of  her  secret.  I  guessed  it 


294  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

was  because  she  was  pleased  that  I  should  want 
her  for  herself,  and  not  for  the  vain  pride  that 
had  been  our  undoing. 

And  then,  with  my  bold  resolve  a  thousandfold 
strengthened,  I  caught  Anna  by  the  arm. 

"  Now  listen,"  said  I,  and  stooped  to  bring  my 
lips  to  her  ear.  "When  I  went  out  this  afternoon 
it  was  to  good  purpose.  I  have  seen  Frau  Loth- 
ner.  ...  I  know  all." 

"  Lord  God ! "  cried  Anna,  and  snatched  her 
hand  from  mine  and  threw  her  arms  to  heaven, 
her  long  brown  face  overspread  with  pallor ;  "  and 
she  has  seen  you,  has  recognised  you  —  the  Court 
doctor's  wife!  Then  God  help  us  all!  If  the 
secret  is  not  out  to-day  it  will  be  to-morrow.  Oh, 
my  poor  child,  my  poor  child ! "  She  rocked 
herself  to  and  fro  in  a  paroxysm  of  indignant 
grief. 

"But,"  said  I,  trying  to  soothe  her  that  she 
might  listen  to  my  plan,  "  Madam  Lothner  is  an 
old  friend  of  mine,  she  is  devoted  to  the  Princess, 
she  has  a  kind  heart,  she  has  promised  me  dis- 
cretion." 

"  She ! "  said  Anna,  and  paused  to  throw  me 
a  look  of  unutterable  scorn.  "  She,  the  sheep- 
head!  in  the  hands  of  such  an  one  as  the  Court 
doctor!  My  lord,  I  give  you  but  to  midnight  to 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  295 

escape !  for  as  it  happens  —  and  God  is  merciful 
that  it  happens  so  —  the  Margrave  has  sent  for 
the  doctor  at  his  camp  of  Liegnitz,  and  he  will 
not  return  until  after  supper." 

"  So  be  it,"  said  I  gaily ;  "  escape  I  shall,  Anna, 
but  not  alone." 

The  woman's  sallow  face  grew  paler  yet.  The 
depth  of  the  love  for  the  child  she  had  nursed  at 
her  breast  gave  her  perspicacity.  Her  eye  sought 
mine  with  fearful  anticipation. 

I  drew  her  to  the  furthest  end  of  the  room  and 
rapidly  expounded  my  project,  which  developed 
itself  in  my  mind  even  as  I  spoke.  Outside  the 
snow  was  falling  fast.  All  good  citizens  were 
within  doors;  there  was  as  yet  no  suspicion  of 
my  presence  in  the  town;  the  palace  was  quiet 
and  my  bitterest  enemy  was  absent;  to  delay 
would  be  to  lose  our  only  chance.  The  passion 
of  my  arguments,  none  the  less  forcible,  perhaps, 
because  of  the  stress  of  circumstances  which  kept 
my  voice  at  whisper  pitch,  bore  down  Anna's 
protests,  her  peasant's  fears.  I  had,  I  believe,  a 
powerful  auxiliary  in  the  woman's  knowledge  of 
all  that  her  beloved  mistress  might  be  made  to 
suffer  upon  the  discovery  of  my  reappearance. 
She  felt  the  convincing  truth  of  my  statement, 
that  if  the  attempt  was  to  be  made  at  all  it  must 


296  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

be  made  this  very  night,  and  she  saw  too  that  1 
said  true  when  I  told  her  I  would  only  give  up 
such  attempt  with  my  life. 

Moreover  (joy  as  yet  hardly  realised!)  she 
knew  that  my  wife's  happiness  lay  in  me  alone ; 
and  so  she  agreed,  with  unexpected  heartiness, 
to  every  detail  of  my  scheme. 

She  was  to  meet  me  at  the  end  of  the  palace 
garden  lane  before  the  stroke  of  eight,  two  hours 
hence,  and  admit  me  through  a  side  postern  into 
the  garden  itself.  We  were  obliged  to  fix  so  early 
an  hour  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  running  twice 
past  sentries,  who,  it  seemed,  were  doubled  around 
the  palace  after  eight  o'clock.  The  Princess's 
apartments  were  upon  the  first  floor  on  the  garden 
side,  and  from  the  terrace  below  it  was  quite  pos- 
sible, it  appeared,  for  an  active  man  to  climb  up 
to  her  balcony.  I  would  bring  a  rope-ladder  — 
Janos  should  make  it,  for  he  had  no  doubt  some 
knowledge  of  that  scaling  implement.  As  soon 
as  she  had  shown  me  the  way,  Anna  was  to 
endeavour  to  prepare  her  mistress  for  my  coming. 
Janos  in  his  turn  was  to  be  waiting  with  my  car- 
riage and  post-horses  as  near  the  garden  gate  as 
he  dared.  The  Princess,  the  nurse  told  me,  was 
wont  to  retire  about  nine,  it  might  be  a  little 
earlier  or  later,  and  liked  then  to  be  left  in  soli- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  297 

tude,  Anna  herself  being  the  only  person  admitted 
to  her  chamber. 

Among  the  many  risks  there  was  one  inevitable, 
the  danger  of  being  discovered  by  my  wife  lurking 
on  her  balcony  before  Anna  had  had  time  to  carry 
her  message :  for  it  was  impossible,  the  woman 
warned  me,  that  she  should  now  see  her  mistress 
before  the  latter  descended  to  meet  the  Duke  at 
supper.  I  was,  however,  gaily  prepared  to  face 
this  risk,  and  even,  foolhardy  as  it  may  seem, 
desired  in  my  inmost  soul  that  there  should  be 
no  intermediary  on  this  occasion,  and  that  my 
lips  only  should  woo  her  back  to  me;  that  this 
first  meeting  after  our  hard  parting  should  be 
sacred  to  ourselves  alone. 

I  reckoned  besides  upon  the  fact  that  since 
Ottilie  knew  I  was  in  the  town,  she  would  not  be 
surprised  at  my  boldness,  however  desperate ;  that 
she  would  ascertain  with  her  own  eyes  who  it  was 
who  dared  climb  so  high,  before  she  called  for 
help. 

At  length,  when  everything  was  clear, — and  the 
woman  showed  after  all  a  wonderful  mother  wit,  — 
Anna  departed  in  the  storm,  and  I  and  Janos  were 
left  to  our  own  plans  and  preparations.  As  for 
me,  my  heart  had  never  ridden  so  high ;  never  for 
a  second  did  I  pause  or  hesitate.  In  a  few  minutes 


298  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

we  had  devised  half  a  dozen  alternate  schemes  of 
flight,  all  equally  good  —  all  equally  precarious. 

"Will  your  honour  leave  it  to  me,"  said  the  old 
campaigner  at  last,  as  he  sat  beginning  to  plait 
and  knot  various  lengths  of  our  luggage  ropes  into 
an  escape  ladder,  —  "the  settlement  of  the  inn  ac- 
count, the  post-horses,  and  the  choice  of  the  road?" 

With  this  I  was  content. 

The  wind  had  abated  a  little,  but  the  snow  was 
still  falling  steadily  when  I  set  forth  at  length. 
The  streets  were,  as  I  expected,  very  empty,  and 
the  few  wayfarers  whom  I  chanced  to  meet  were 
so  enveloped  and  so  plastered  with  white,  the  chief 
thought  of  every  one  was  so  obviously  how  best 
to  keep  himself  warm,  how  soonest  to  get  within 
shelter,  that  I  hugged  myself  again  upon  my 
luck.  There  was  a  glow  within  me  which  defied 
the  elements. 

At  the  corner  of  the  garden  lane,  at  the  ap- 
pointed place,  even  as  the  tower  clock  began  the 
quarter  chimes,  I  saw  a  woman's  figure  rapidly 
approaching  the  trysting  spot  from  the  opposite 
direction.  I  hesitated  for  a  moment,  uncertain  as 
to  its  identity,  but  it  made  straight  for  me,  and  I 
saw  it  was  Anna.  As  we  turned  into  the  lane 
itself  she  suddenly  whispered  : 

"  Put  your  arm  round  my  waist,"  and  the  next 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  299 

instant,  from  the  very  midst  of  my  amazement,  I 
realised  her  meaning :  we  had  to  pass  close  by 
a  sentry-box.  Woman's  wits  are  ever  sharper 
than  man's.  The  sentry  was  stamping  to  and  fro, 
beating  his  breast  with  his  disengaged  hand,  but 
ceased  his  bear  dance  to  stare  at  us,  as  we  came 
within  the  light  of  the  postern  lamp,  and  launched 
at  the  dim  couple  so  lovingly  embraced  some  rude 
witticism  in  his  peasant  tongue,  accompanied  by 
a  grunt  of  good-natured  laughter.  My  supposed 
sweetheart  pulled  her  hood  further  over  her  face, 
answered  back  tartly  with  a  couple  of  words  in  the 
country  dialect ;  and,  followed  by  an  ironical  bless- 
ing from  the  churl,  we  were  free  to  pursue  our 
way  unchallenged. 

This  was  the  only  obstacle  we  encountered ;  the 
lane  was  quite  deserted.  We  stopped  before  a 
little  postern  door  half  buried  in  ivy,  which  Anna, 
producing  a  key  from  her  pocket,  unlocked  after 
some  difficulty.  At  last  it  rolled  back  on  its  rusty 
hinges  with  what  sounded  in  my  ears  as  an  exult- 
ant creak.  An  ancient  bird's  nest  fell  upon  my 
head  as  we  passed  through  into  the  garden.  Anna 
carefully  pushed  the  door  to  once  more,  but  with- 
out locking  it,  and  we  hastened  towards  the  dis- 
tant gleaming  front  of  the  palace,  stumbling  as  we 
went,  for  the  soft  snow  concealed  the  irregularities 


3OO  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

of  the  path.  Without  hesitation,  however,  my 
guide  led  me  between  two  fantastically  carved 
hedges  of  box  and  yew  till  we  came  to  a  statue, 
rearing  a  blurred  outline,  ghostly  white  in  the 
faint  snowlight.  Here  she  stood  still  and  pointing 
to  the  south  wing : 

"There,"  she  said,  while  all  the  blood  in  my 
body  leaped,  "  there  are  my  mistress's  apartments ; 
see  you  those  three  windows  above  the  terrace? 
The  middle  window  with  the  balcony  is  that  of 
her  Highness's  bedroom.  You  cannot  mistake  it. 
The  ivy  is  as  thick  as  a  man's  arm,  and  you  may 
climb  by  it  in  safety.  Now  that  I  have  done  what 
you  bade  me  I  will  go  to  the  palace.  God  see  us 
through  this  mad  night's  work !  " 

With  these  words  she  left  me.  I  ventured  to 
the  foot  of  the  terrace  wall,  and  creeping  alongside 
soon  found  the  terrace  steps,  which  I  ascended 
with  a  tread  as  noiseless  as  the  fall  of  the  thick 
snowflakes  all  around  me.  I  stood  under  her 
balcony.  I  groped  for  the  ivy-stems,  and  found 
them  indeed  as  thick  as  cables.  It  was  a  plant  of 
centenarian  growth,  and  it  clasped  the  old  palace 
walls  with  a  hundred  arms,  as  close  as  welded 
iron :  as  strong  and  commodious  a  ladder  as  my 
purpose  required.  I  swung  myself  up  (I  tremble 
now  to  think  how  recklessly,  when  one  false  step 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  301 

might  have  ended  the  life  that  had  grown 
so  dear),  and  next  I  found  myself  upon  the 
balcony  —  Ottilie's  balcony  !  —  and  through  the 
parted  curtains  could  peer  into  her  lighted 
room. 

Then  for  the  first  time  I  paused,  hesitating  to 
pry  upon  her  retirement  like  a  thief  in  the  night. 
For  a  moment  I  knelt  upon  the  snow  and  cried  in 
my  heart  for  pardon  to  her.  Then,  drawing  cau- 
tiously aside  from  the  shaft  of  light,  I  looked  in. 
It  was  a  large  lofty  apartment  with  much  gilding, 
tarnished  it  seemed  by  time,  and  with  faded  paint- 
ings and  medallions  on  the  walls.  In  an  alcove 
curtained  off  I  divined  in  the  shadow  a  great  carved 
bed,  whose  gilt  curves  caught  now  and  again  a 
gleam  of  ruby  light  from  the  open  door  of  an 
immense  rose  china  stove.  My  eyes  lingered  ten- 
derly over  every  detail  of  the  sanctuary  sacred  to 
my  lady.  Outside  upon  the  balcony,  all  in  the 
darkness,  the  cold,  and  the  snow,  my  whole  being 
began  to  swim  in  a  dreamy  warmth  of  love.  It 
is  like  enough  that  had  not  something  come  to 
rouse  me,  I  might  have  been  found  next  morn- 
ing, stiff,  frozen  upon  my  perch,  with  a  smile 
upon  my  lips  —  a  very  sweet  and  easy  death ! 
But  from  this  dangerous  dreaminess  I  was  pres- 
ently aroused  to  vivid  watchfulness  and  energy. 


3O2  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

My  wandering  gaze  had  been  for  a  little  while 
uncomprehendingly  fixed  upon  a  shining  wing  of 
flowered  satin  stuff  that  trailed  on  one  side  of  a 
great  armchair,  the  back  of  which  was  turned 
towards  me.  This  wing  of  brocade  caught  the 
full  illumination  of  the  candles  on  the  wall  and 
showed  hues  of  pink  and  green  as  dainty  as  the 
monthly  roses  in  the  garden  of  my  old  home  in 
England.  Now  as  I  gazed  the  roses  began  to 
move  as  if  a  breeze  had  shaken  them,  and  lo ! 
the  next  moment,  a  little  hand  as  white  as  milk 
fluttered  down  like  a  dove  upon  them  and  drew 
them  out  of  sight.  For  a  second  my  heart  stood 
still,  and  then  beat  against  my  breast  like  a  frantic 
wild  thing  of  the  woods  against  the  bars  of  its 
cage.  She  was  there,  there  already,  my  be- 
loved! What  kept  me  from  breaking  in  upon 
her,  I  cannot  say  —  a  sort  of  fear  of  looking  upon 
her  face  again  in  the  midst  of  my  great  longing 
—  or  maybe  my  good  angel !  Anyhow  I  paused, 
and  pausing  was  saved.  For  in  a  second  more  a 
door  opposite  to  me  opened,  and  an  elderly  lady, 
followed  by  two  servants  carrying  a  table  spread 
for  a  repast,  entered  the  room.  The  lady  came 
towards  the  armchair  and  curtsied.  I  saw  her 
lips  move  and  caught  the  murmur  of  her  voice, 
and  listened  next  in  vain  for  the  music  of  those 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  303 

tones  for  which  my  ear  had  hungered  so  many 
days  and  nights. 

I  saw  the  white  hand  cleave  the  air  again  as  if 
with  an  impatient  gesture.  The  lady  curtsied,  the 
lackeys  deposited  the  table  near  the  chair,  and  all 
three  withdrew. 

I  had  trusted  to  fate  to  be  kind  to  me  this  night, 
but  I  had  not  dared  expect  from  fate  more  than 
neutrality ;  and  now  it  was  clear  that  it  was  taking 
sides  for  me,  and  that  my  wife  had  been  strangely 
well  inspired  to  sup  in  her  chamber  alone,  instead 
of  in  public  with  her  father,  as  I  had  been  told 
was  her  wont. 

No  sooner  had  the  attendants  retired  than  I 
beheld  her  light  figure  spring  up  with  the  old 
bounding  impetuosity  I  had  loved  and  laughed 
at,  fling  herself  against  the  door,  and  I  heard  the 
snap  of  the  key.  Now  was  my  opportunity !  And 
yet  again  I  hesitated  and  watched.  My  face  was 
pressed  against  the  glass  in  the  full  glare  of  the 
light,  without  a  thought  of  caution,  forgetting  that, 
were  she  to  look  up  and  see  me,  the  woman  alone 
might  well  scream  at  the  wild,  eager  face  watch- 
ing her  with  burning  eyes  from  out  of  the  black 
night  But  she  did  not  look  up. 

Wheeling  round  at  the  door  itself  as  if  she  could 
not  even  wait  to  get  back  to  her  chair,  Ottilie  — 


304  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

my  Ottflie  —  drew  from  beneath  the  lace  folds 
that  crossed  upon  her  young  bosom  a  folded  let- 
ter, which  I  recognized,  by  the  coarse  grey  paper, 
as  that  which  my  own  hand  had  scored  in  the  little 
provision  shop  a  few  hours  ago. 

An  extraordinary  mixture  of  emotions  seized 
upon  my  soul:  a  sort  of  shame  of  myself  again 
for  spying  upon  her  private  life,  and  an  unutter- 
able rapture.  I  could  have  knelt  once  more  in 
the  snow  as  before  a  sacred  shrine,  and  I  could 
have  broken  down  a  fortress  to  get  to  her.  From 
the  very  strength  of  the  conflict  I  was  motionless, 
with  all  my  life  still  in  my  eyes. 

When  she  had  finished  reading  she  lifted  her 
face  for  a  moment,  and  then  for  the  first  time  I 
saw  it.  Oh,  dear  face,  paled  with  many  tears 
and  dark  thoughts,  but  beautiful,  beyond  even  my 
heated  fancy,  with  a  new  beauty,  rarer  and  more 
exquisite  than  it  is  given  me  to  describe!  The 
same,  yet  not  the  same !  The  wife  I  had  left 
had  been  a  wilful  and  wayward  child,  a  mocking 
sprite  —  the  wife  I  here  found  again  was  a  gra- 
cious, a  ripe  and  tender  woman,  upon  whose  lips 
and  eyes  sat  the  seal  of  a  noble,  sorrowful 
endurance. 

She  lifted  the  letter  to  her  lips  and  kissed  it, 
looked  up  again,  and  then  our  eyes  met !  Then  I 


The  Pride  of  Jennie*  305 

hardly  remember  what  I  did.  I  was  unconscious 
of  any  deliberate  thought ;  I  only  knew  that  there 
was  my  wife,  and  that  not  another  second  should 
pass  before  I  had  her  in  my  arms. 

I  suppose  I  must  have  hurled  myself  against 
the  casement;  the  lock  yielded,  and  the  window 
flew  open.  Enveloped  in  a  whirl  of  floating  snow 
I  leaped  into  the  warm  room.  With  dilated, 
fixed  eyes,  with  parted  lips,  she  stood,  terror- 
stricken,  at  first,  yet  erect  and  undaunted.  I  had 
counted  all  along  on  her  courage,  and  it  did  not 
fail  me!  But  before  I  had  even  time  to  speak, 
such  a  change  came  over  her  as  is  like  the  first 
upspring  of  sunlight  upon  the  colourless  world  of 
dawn.  As  you  may  see  a  wave  gather  itself  aloft 
to  break  upon  the  shore,  so  she  drew  herself  up 
and  flung  herself,  melting  into  tears,  body  and 
soul,  as  it  were,  upon  my  heart.  And  the  next 
moment  her  lips  sought  mine. 

Never  before  had  she  so  come  to  me  —  never 
before  had  life  held  for  me  such  a  moment !  Oh, 

my  God !  it  was  worth  the  suffering ! 
x 


CHAPTER  V 

A  KNOCK  without  aroused  us.  With  a  stifled  cry 
of  alarm,  the  woman  who  had  made  no  sound  on 
the  violent  entry  of  an  armed  man  upon  her  un- 
protected solitude,  now  fell  into  deadly  anguish. 
She  sprang  to  the  door,  and  I  could  see  the  lace 
on  her  bosom  flutter  with  the  fear  of  her  heart 
as  she  bent  her  ear  to  listen.  The  knock  was 
repeated. 

"  Who  is  it  ? "  cried  Ottilie,  in  a  strangled  voice. 
"  I  had  said  I  would  be  alone." 

"'Tis  I,  child,"  came  the  answer  in  the  well- 
known  deep  note ;  "  it  is  Anna,  alone." 

I  thrust  my  sword  back  into  its  scabbard;  my 
wife  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief,  and  glanced  at 
me  with  her  hand  pressed  to  her  heart. 

"  Anna,  thank  God !  We  can  admit  her :  Anna 
is  safe,"  she  said,  and  turned  the  key. 

Anna  opened  the  door,  stood  an  instant  on  the 
threshold,  contemplating  us  in  silence;  a  faint 
smile  hovered  about  her  hard  mouth.  Then, 
without  wasting  words  on  futile  warnings,  she 
made  fast  the  lock,  deposited  on  the  floor  a  dark 

306 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  307 

lantern  she  had  concealed  under  her  apron,  walked 
to  the  window,  which  she  closed  as  best  she  could, 
and  drew  the  curtains  securely.  Indeed,  her  pre- 
caution was  not  idle :  through  the  silence  of  the 
outside  world  of  night,  muffled  by  the  snow,  but 
yet  unmistakable,  the  tread  of  the  first  patrolling 
round  now  grew  even  more  distinctly  upon  our 
ear,  passed  under  the  terrace,  emphasised  by  an 
occasional  click  of  steel,  and  died  away  round  the 
corner.  With  the  vanishing  sound  melted  the  new 
anxiety  which  had  clutched  me,  and  I  blessed  the 
falling  snow  which  must  have  hidden  again,  as 
soon  as  registered,  the  tell-tale  traces  of  my  foot- 
steps below. 

Anna  had  listened  with  frowning  brow;  when 
all  was  still  once  more,  she  turned  to  the  Princess, 
and  briefly,  but  in  that  softened  voice  I  remem- 
bered of  old: 

"  I  have  told  your  ladies  that  you  had  bidden  me 
attend  to  you  this  night,  and  that  you  must  not 
be  disturbed  in  the  morning,"  and  then  turned  to 
me :  "  All  is  ready,  sir ;  we  have  till  noon  before 
being  discovered.  And  now,  child,"  she  continued, 
as  Ottilie,  still  closely  clinging  to  my  side,  looked 
up  inquiringly,  "  no  time  to  lose ;  there  is  death  in 
this  for  thy  gracious  lord,  if  not  for  us  all  as  well." 

"  What   does   she   mean  ? "    asked    Ottilie,   and 


308  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

seemed  brought  from  a  far  sphere  of  bliss  face 
to  face  with  cold  reality.  "Oh,  Basil,  Basil,  to 
leave  me  again !  " 

"  Leave  you !  I  will  never  leave  you,"  cried  I, 
touched  to  the  quick  at  the  change  which  had 
come  upon  the  proud  spirit  of  my  beloved ;  "  but 
if  you  will  not  come  with  me,  with  your  husband, 
if  you  fear  the  perils  of  flight,  the  hardships  of 
the  road,  or  even,"  said  I,  though  it  was  only  to 
try  her  and  taste  once  again  the  exquisite  joy  of 
loving,  humble  words  from  her  lips,  "  if  you  can- 
not make  up  your  mind  to  give  up  your  high  state 
here,  to  live  as  the  wife  of  a  simple  gentleman, 
I  am  content  to  die  at  your  side.  But  leave  you, 
never  again !  Ah  !  my  God,  once  was  too  much." 

She  looked  at  me  for  a  second  with  tender 
reproach  in  her  tear-dimmed  eyes  and  upon  her 
trembling  lips ;  then  she  answered  with  a  simplicity 
that  rebuked  my  mock  humility : 

"  I  am  content  to  go  with  you,  Basil,  were  it  to 
the  end  of  the  world." 

At  this  I  could  not,  in  spite  of  Anna's  presence, 
but  take  her  to  my  heart  again,  and  the  nurse, 
after  watching  us  with  a  curious  look  of  mingled 
pleasure  and  jealousy  in  her  hollow  eyes,  sud- 
denly and  somewhat  harshly  bade  us  remember 
once  more  that  time  was  short. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  309 

"You,"  she  went  on  to  her  lady,  peremptorily, 
as  if  conscious  of  being  herself  the  true  mistress  of 
the  situation,  "  drink  you  of  that  broth  and  break 
some  bread,  and  drink  of  that  wine,  for  you  have 
not  eaten  to-day.  And  you,"  she  added,  turning 
to  me,  "  make  ready  with  your  ladder." 

Impatiently  and  sternly  she  stood  by  us  until  we 
prepared  to  obey  her  orders. 

We  owe  a  very  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  this 
woman ! 

My  wife  sat  down  like  a  child,  watching  me, 
sweet  heart!  over  every  mouthful  of  soup  as 
one  who  fears  the  vision  may  fade.  As  for 
me,  appreciating  all  the  importance  of  immediate 
action,  I  threw  from  me  the  perilous  temptation  of 
letting  myself  go  to  the  delight  of  the  moment  — 
a  delight  enhanced,  perhaps,  by  the  very  know- 
ledge of  environing  danger.  Opening  my  cloak, 
I  unwound  the  length  of  rope  from  my  waist, 
cautiously  slipped  out  again  on  the  balcony  and 
fastened  one  end  to  the  iron  rail.  Remembering 
the  precious  burden  it  was  to  bear,  I  could  not 
be  satisfied  without  testing'  every  knot,  and  finally 
trying  its  strength  with  my  own  weight  by  de- 
scending to  the  terrace.  It  worked  satisfactorily, 
and  the  distance,  fortunately,  was  not  excessive. 
Then  leaving  it  dangling,  in  three  leaps  I  was 


3IO  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

up  again  and  once  more  in  the  warm  room,  just 
in  time  to  see  an  exquisite  gleam  of  silk  stocking 
disappear  into  the  depths  of  the  fur  boot  which 
Anna  was  fastening  with  all  the  dexterity  of  a 
nurse  dressing  a  child. 

And,  indeed,  my  sweet  love  submitted  to  be 
turned  and  bustled  and  manipulated  with  an  un- 
complaining docility  as  if  she  was  again  back  in 
her  babyhood  —  although  in  truth  I  have  reason 
to  believe,  from  what  I  know  of  her  and  have 
heard  since,  that  not  even  then  had  she  ever  been 
remarkable  for  docility. 

Grimly  smiling,  Anna  completed  her  labour  by 
submerging  the  dainty  head  in  a  deep  hood; 
the  sable-lined  cloak  and  the  muff  she  handed 
over  to  me  with  the  abrupt  command  :  "  Throw 
them  out !  Auswerfen  ! "  Anna  should  have  been 
a  grenadier  sergeant;  nevertheless,  the  thought 
was  good,  and  I  promptly  obeyed.  Next  she  gave 
me  the  lantern  —  she  had  thought  of  everything  ! 
—  and  commenced  extinguishing  the  lights  in  the 
room.  I  took  Ottilie  by  the  hand,  the  little  warm 
hand,  ungloved,  that  it  might  the  tighter  feel  the 
rope. 

"Will  you  trust  yourself,  love?"  said  I.  She 
gave  me  no  answer  but  a  shaft  of  one  of  her  old 
fearless  looks  and  yielded  her  waist  to  my  arm, 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  311 

and  thus  we  stepped  forth  into  the  snow  and  the 
night.  I  guided  her  to  the  rope  and  showed  her 
where  to  hold,  and  where  to  place  her  feet,  and 
then,  climbing  over  the  balcony,  supporting  my- 
self by  the  projecting  stones  and  the  knotted  ivy, 
I  was  able  to  guide  the  slender  body  down  each 
swinging  rung:  for  when  the  blood  is  hot  and 
the  heart  on  fire  one  can  do  things  that  would 
otherwise  appear  well-nigh  impossible. 

Safely  we  reached  the  ground.  I  enveloped 
her  in  the  cloak  which  Anna's  forethought  had 
provided,  and  after  granting  myself  the  luxury 
of  another  embrace  I  was  preparing  to  ascend 
the  blessed  rope  again  for  the  purpose  of  assist- 
ing Anna,  when  I  discovered  that  incomparable 
woman  solidly  and  stolidly  planted  by  our  side  in 
the  snow. 

"  All  is  right,  gracious  sir,"  she  said  in  a  hoarse 
whisper ;  "  but  it  would  be  as  well  to  take  away 
that  rope,  since  you  can  go  up  and  down  so  easily 
without  it." 

Recognising  in  an  instant  the  wisdom  of  the 
suggestion  —  it  was  well  some  one  had  a  waking 
brain  that  night!  —  I  clambered  up  once  more, 
and  in  a  few  seconds  had  flung  down  the  tell-tale 
ladder,  and  descended  again. 

Anna  took  up  the  lantern,  which  she  hid  under 


312  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

her  cloak,  and,  all  three  clinging  together,  we 
hastened  to  the  postern  as  noiselessly  as  shadows. 
The  snow  fell,  but  the  wind  had  all  subsided,  and 
the  air  was  now  so  still  that  the  cold  struck  no 
chill. 

Outside  the  postern,  seeing  no  one  in  sight,  we 
paused. 

"  I  have  told  Janos  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  the 
lane,"  said  I  to  Anna,  as  she  pocketed  the  key 
after  turning  the  lock.  And  then  to  my  wife,  who 
hung  close  and  silent  to  my  arm:  "It  is  but  a 
little  way,  and  then  you  shall  rest." 

Even  as  I  spoke  I  turned  to  lead  her,  but  Anna 
arrested  me : 

"  I  have  thought  better,"  she  said.  "  To  leave 
the  town  in  a  carriage  is  dangerous.  I  have  ar- 
ranged otherwise." 

I  was  about,  I  believe,  to  protest,  or  at  least 
discuss,  when  Ottilie,  who  had  hitherto  permitted 
herself  to  be  led  whither  I  would,  like  one  in  a 
dream,  suddenly  cried  to  me  in  an  urgent  under- 
tone to  let  Anna  have  her  way :  "  Believe  me," 
she  said,  "  you  will  not  repent  it."  I  would  have 
gone  anywhere  at  the  command  of  that  voice. 

"It  shall  be  so,"  said  I;  "but  there  is  Janos, 
and  we  cannot  leave  him  in  the  lurch." 

"  No,  we  must  have  Janos  with  us,"  said  Anna ; 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  313 

"but  that  is  easy.  Follow  me,  children."  And 
uncovering  her  lantern,  with  her  skirts  well  kilted 
up,  she  preceded  us  with  fearless  strides  to  the 
secluded  turn  at  the  bottom  of  the  lane,  where, 
true  to  his  promise,  I  found  the  heiduck  and  his 
conveyance. 

For  the  greater  security  the  lamps  of  the  car- 
riage had  not  been  lit,  but  we  could  see  its  bulk 
rise  in  denser  black  against  the  gloom  before  us, 
and  feel  the  warmth  of  the  horses  steam  out  upon 
us,  with  a  pleasant  stable  odour,  into  the  purity 
of  the  air. 

There  was  a  rapid  colloquy  between  our  two 
old  servants.  Janos,  the  cunning  fox!  at  once 
and  appreciatively  agreed  to  Anna's  superior  plan 
of  action,  and  indeed  his  old  campaigner's  wits 
promptly  went  one  better  than  the  peasant's 
shrewdness  :  instead  of  merely  dismissing  the  car- 
riage as  she  suggested,  he  bade  the  coachman 
drive  out  by  the  East  Gate  of  the  town  and,  halt- 
ing at  Gleiwitz,  await  at  the  main  hostelry  there 
the  party  that  would  come  on  the  morrow.  And 
in  the  dark  I  could  see  him  emphasise  the  order 
by  the  transfer  of  some  pieces,  that  clicked  know- 
ingly in  the  night  silence.  The  point  of  the 
manoeuvre,  however,  was  only  manifest  to  me 
when,  turning  to  follow  Anna's  lead  again  down 


314  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

a  side  alley,  the  fellow  breathed  into  my  ear  with 
a  chuckle : 

"While  your  honour  was  away  I  took  upon 
myself  to  despatch  his  carriage  with  our  luggage, 
to  meet  us,  I  said,  at  Dresden.  That  will  be  two 
false  scents  for  them  —  and  we,  it  seems,  take 
the  south  road  to  Prague !  We  shall  puzzle  Bu- 
dissin  yet." 

On  we  tramped  through  the  deserted  bye-streets. 
It  was  only  when  we  were  stopped  at  last,  in  that 
self-same  poor  little  mean  lane,  before  the  self- 
same poor  little  mean  shop,  faintly  lit  inside  by 
a  dull  oil  lamp,  that  I  recognised  the  scene  of  my 
morning's  interview  with  Anna  —  that  interview 
which  seemed  already  to  have  passed  into  the 
far  regions  of  my  memory,  so  much  had  I  lived 
through  since. 

We  met  but  few  folk  upon  our  way,  who 
paid  little  attention  to  us.  As  we  entered  into 
the  evil-smelling  room,  stepping  down  into  it 
from  the  street,  and  as  Anna  shot  back  the  slide 
of  the  lantern  and  turned  upon  us  a  triumphant 
smiling  face,  I  felt  that  our  chief  peril  was  over. 
The  shop  was  empty,  but  she  was  not  disposed 
to  allow  us  even  a  little  halt :  she  marshalled  us 
through  the  dank  narrow  passages  with  which  I 
had  already  made  acquaintance,  across  the  court- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  315 

yard  into  the  back  street.  There  stood  a  country 
waggon  with  a  leathern  tent.  By  the  flash  of  the 
lantern  I  saw  that  to  it  were  harnessed  a  pair  of 
great  raw-boned  chestnuts  that  hung  their  heads 
patiently  beneath  the  snow,  yet  seemed  to  have 
known  better  service  in  their  days — no  doubt  at 
one  time  had  felt  the  trooper's  spurs. 

Beside  them  stood  a  squat  man,  enveloped  to 
the  ears  in  sheepskin,  with  a  limp  felt  hat  drawn 
over  his  brow  till  only  some  three-quarters  of  a 
shrewd,  empurpled,  not  unkindly  visage  was  left 
visible.  The  waggoner  was  evidently  expecting 
us,  for  he  came  forward,  withdrew  his  pipe,  touched 
his  hat,  and  made  a  leg. 

"  My  cousin,"  said  Anna  to  us,  and  added 
briefly  and  significantly :  "  He  asks  no  questions." 

Then  in  a  severe  tone  of  command  she  pro- 
ceeded to  address  several  to  him.  Had  he  placed 
fresh  hay  in  the  waggon  according  to  her  orders  ? 
Had  he  received  from  her  sister  the  ham,  and  the 
wine  and  the  blankets  ?  Had  the  horses  been 
well  fed?  On  receiving  affirmative  grunts  in 
answer,  she  bade  him  then  immediately  produce 
the  chair,  that  the  lady  and  the  gentleman  might 
get  in. 

Between  the  closed  borders  of  her  hood  I 
caught  a  glimpse  of  Ottilie's  faint  smile,  as  lighted 


316  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

by  the  lantern  rays  she  mounted  upon  the  wooden 
stool  and  disappeared  into  the  dark  recesses  of 
the  waggon,  stirring  up  a  warm  dust  as  she  went, 
and  a  far-away  fragrance  of  hay  and  faded  clover. 

"Now  you,  sir,"  said  Anna,  and  jogged  my 
elbow. 

I  believe  at  that  moment  we  were  to  her  but 
a  pair  of  babes  and  nurslings  for  whom  she  was 
responsible,  and  that  she  would  have  as  readily 
combed  our  hair  and  washed  our  faces  as  if  we 
were  still  of  a  size  to  be  lifted  on  her  knee. 

I  obeyed.  And  truly,  as  I  crawled  forward  in 
the  dark,  amid  the  warm  straw,  groping  my  way 
to  the  further  end  till  I  laid  my  hand  on  Ottilie's 
soft  young  arm  extended  towards  me,  when  I 
heard  her  laugh  a  little  laugh  to  herself  as  we 
snuggled  in  the  nest  together,  I  felt  a  happiness 
that  was  like  that  of  a  child,  all  innocent  of  past 
and  improvident  of  future.  Nevertheless  at  one 
and  the  same  time  my  whole  being  was  stirred  to 
its  depths  with  a  tenderness  my  manhood  had  not 
yet  known. 

In  those  foolish  bygone  days  I  had  loved  her, 
the  sweet  soul,  with  the  unworthy,  mad  passion 
of  a  lover  for  his  mistress.  When  she  left  me 
I  had  mourned  her  as  a  man  mourns  for  his  wife, 
flesh  of  his  flesh,  bone  of  his  bone.  Now,  how- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  317 

ever,  we  seemed  to  be  lad  and  maid  together ;  our 
love,  after  all  the  sorrow  and  the  agony  we  had 
passed  through,  seemed  to  wear  the  unspeakable 
freshness  of  a  first  courtship.  It  was  written  that 
good  measure  was  to  be  paid  me  to  compensate 
for  past  anguish  —  good  measure,  heaped  up,  flow- 
ing over !  I  took  it  with  a  thankful  heart. 

The  cart  swayed  and  creaked  as  Janos  and 
Anna  mounted  and  settled  themselves  at  our  feet, 
drawing  the  hay  high  over  themselves.  Then 
came  another  creaking  and  swaying  in  the  forward 
end,  we  heard  a  jingle  of  bells,  a  crack  of  the 
whip  and  a  hoarse  shout :  the  cart  groaned  and 
strained  to  the  effort  of  the  horses,  then  yielded. 
And  at  a  grave  pace  we  rumbled  over  the  cobble- 
stones, turning  hither  and  thither  through  street 
after  street  which  we  could  not  see.  And  in  the 
midst  of  our  hay  we  felt  a  sense  of  comfortable 
irresponsibility  and  delicious  mystery.  All  in  the 
inner  darkness  we  were  dimly  conscious  of  the 
snowy  pageant  outside :  the  ghost-like  houses  and 
the  twinkling  lights.  Ottilie  lay  against  my 
shoulder,  and  I  felt  her  light  breath  upon  my 
cheek. 

After  a  while — it  would  be  hard  to  say  how  long 
—  there  was  a  halt ;  there  came  a  shout  from  our 
driver,  and  an  answering  shout  beyond.  I  knew 


318  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

we  had  come  to  the  Town  Gates.  That  was  a  pal- 
pitating  moment  of  anxiety  as  the  two  voices  ex- 
changed parley,  which  the  heavy  beating  of  the 
pulses  in  my  ears  would  not  allow  me  to  follow. 
Next  the  rough  cadence  of  a  jovial  laugh  fell  loud 
upon  the  air,  and  then  —  sweeter  music  I  have  sel- 
dom heard !  —  the  clank  of  the  gate's  bar.  Once 
more  we  felt  ourselves  rumbling  on  slowly  till  we 
had  passed  the  bridge  and  exchanged  the  cobbles 
of  the  town  for  the  surface  of  the  great  Imperial 
road,  more  lenient  for  all  its  ruts.  The  cousin 
cracked  his  whip  again  and  bellowed  to  his  cattle  ; 
after  infinite  persuasion  they  broke  into  a  heavy 
jog-trot. 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  said  Anna  suddenly  from 
her  dark  corner,  in  a  loud  vibrating  voice,  "give 
thanks  to  God,  you  children  ! "  She  leant  forward 
as  she  spoke,  and  pulled  aside  the  leathern  cur- 
tains that  hung  across  the  back  of  the  cart. 

With  the  rush  of  snowy  air  came  to  us  framed 
by  the  aperture  a  retreating  vision  of  Budissin, 
studded  here  and  there  with  rare  gleams  of  light. 

Thus  did  my  wife,  the  young  Princess  of  Lusa- 
tia,  leave  her  father's  dominions,  her  prospects  of 
a  throne,  for  the  love  of  a  simple  English  gentle- 
man! 


CHAPTER  VI 

I  SHALL  carry  to  the  grave,  as  one  of  the  sweet- 
est of  my  life,  the  memory  of  that  night  journey. 
Coming  as  it  did  between  the  fierce  emotions  and 
dangers  of  our  meeting  and  flight,  and  the  perilous 
and  furious  episode  that  yet  awaited  us,  it  seems 
doubly  impregnated  with  an  exquisite  serenity  of 
happiness.  Full  of  brief  moments,  that  brought 
me  then  a  poignant  joy,  it  brings  to  my  heart  as 
I  look  back  on  it  now  a  tenderness  as  of  smiles 
and  tears  together. 

After  a  little  while  the  flakes  had  ceased  falling, 
and,  in  the  faint  snowlight,  beneath  a  clear  sky, 
we  gazed  forth  together  from  our  ambulant  nest, 
here  upon  mysterious  stretches  of  plain-land,  there 
upon  ghosts  of  serried  trees,  trees  that  marched  as 
it  were  past  us  back  towards  Budissin.  I  remem- 
ber how  in  a  clear  space  of  sky  a  star  shone  out 
upon  us  at  last,  and  how  it  seemed  a  good  omen, 
and  how  we  kissed  in  the  darkness. 

Then  there  was  our  meal,  with  Anna's  lantern 
to  illumine  the  feast.  I  was  so  lost  in  watching 
my  beloved  bite  her  black  bread  contentedly  with 


320  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

small  white  teeth,  and  toast  me  with  loving  eyes 
over  the  thin  wine,  that  I  could  scarce  fall  to,  my- 
self. Yet  when  I  did  so  it  was  with  right  good 
appetite,  for  I  was  hungered,  and  I  never  tasted 
better  fare. 

Then  Jdnos  got  out  of  the  waggon  to  sit  in 
front  by  the  driver  and  smoke.  My  great-uncle 
had  been  such  a  confirmed  tobacco-man  that  Janos 
had  acquired  the  habit  in  attendance  upon  him, 
and  it  did  not  behove  me  to  interfere  with  an  in- 
dulgence fostered  by  thirty  years'  service. 

Anyhow,  on  that  night  the  stray  whiffs  of  his 
strong  tobacco  mingled  not  unpleasantly  with  the 
keen  cold  scents  of  the  night ;  and  the  sound  of 
the  two  men's  talk,  with  the  monotonous  jingle 
and  rumble  of  harness  and  cart,  made  a  comfort- 
able human  accompaniment  to  our  passage  in  the 
midst  of  the  great  silence.  Anna  went  to  sleep 
and  snored  after  her  good  day's  work,  waking  now 
and  again  with  a  start  and  a  groan,  and  thence  to 
oblivion  once  more.  And  then  we  too,  oblivious  of 
the  world,  fell  into  a  long  dream,  hand  in  hand  — 
a  great  wide-eyed  dream  filling  our  silence  with 
soaring  music,  our  darkness  with  all  the  warm 
colour  of  life. 

And  thus  we  reached  the  first  halting-place  in 
the  itinerary  planned  by  Janos  and  myself  on  the 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  321 

Imperial  Chausse'e.  The  place  whence  we  would 
best  defy  our  enemies,  and  therefore  our  ultimate 
destination,  was  of  course  my  own  Castle  of 
Tollendhal,  recent  experience  having  sufficiently 
demonstrated  that  in  England  we  should  be  ill- 
protected  from  the  machinations  of  Budissin. 
This  first  stage  was  Lobau. 

Never  did  town  look  so  thoroughly  asleep  under 
its  snow-laden  eaves,  behind  its  black  shutters, 
thought  I,  as  our  tired  horses,  steaming  and  stum- 
bling, dragged  our  cart  up  the  main  street. 

A  watchman  had  just  sung  out  his  cry :  "  The 
twelfth  hour  of  the  night,  and  a  clear  heaven," 
when  we  turned  into  the  market-place,  from  the 
middle  of  which  he  chanted  his  informing  ditty  to 
those  Lobauers  who  might  chance  to  be  awake  to 
hear  and  thereby  be  comforted. 

Spear  in  one  hand  and  lantern  in  the  other,  the 
fellow  approached  to  inquire  into  such  an  unusual 
event  as  the  passage  of  midnight  travellers.  We 
heard  Janos,  in  brief  tones,  tell  a  plausible  tale  of 
his  lordship's  travelling  coach  having  broken  down 
(on  its  way  from  Gorlitz,  said  he,  who  never  missed 
a  chance  of  falsifying  a  scent!),  and  of  his  lord- 
ship, who  happened  to  be  in  a  special  haste  to 
proceed,  having  availed  himself  of  a  passing  coun- 
try cart  to  pursue  his  journey  to  the  next  posting 


322  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

town,  and  so  forth,  all  the  main  points  of  this 
story  being  corroborated  by  an  affirmative  growl 
from  our  Jehu.  Whereupon  the  watchman,  honest 
fellow,  nothing  loath  doubtless  to  vary  the  perennial 
monotony  of  his  avocation,  undertook  to  awaken 
for  our  benefit  the  inmates  of  the  post-house,  the 
best  house  of  entertainment,  he  asseverated,  in  the 
town. 

It  will  be  long,  I  take  it,  before  the  worthy 
burghers  of  Lobau,  and  especially  mine  host  of 
the  "Cross  Keys,"  forget  the  mysterious  passage 
at  dead  of  night  of  the  great  unknown  magnate 
and  his  hooded  lady,  of  the  tire-woman  with  the 
forbidding  countenance,  and  of  the  ugly  body-ser- 
vant, whose  combined  peremptoriness  and  lavish 
generosity  produced  such  wonders,  —  even  had 
subsequent  events  not  sufficed  to  fix  it  upon  their 
minds  as  a  tragic  epoch  in  the  history  of  their 
country. 

A  few  minutes  of  obstinate  hammering  and 
bell-ringing  by  Janos  and  by  the  deeply  impressed 
watchman,  awoke  the  hostelry  from  the  depths 
of  its  slumbers.  The  bark  of  dogs  responded 
first  to  the  clangour;  lights  appeared  at  various 
corners;  windows,  and  then  doors,  were  thrown 
open.  At  last  Janos  threw  back  the  leather  cur- 
tain of  our  conveyance,  and  hat  in  hand,  with  his 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  323 

greatest  air  of  bonne  maison  assisted  my  lord  in 
his  cloak,  my  lady  in  the  furs  (both  much  orna- 
mented with  wisps  of  hay),  to  alight  from  their  cart. 

My  lady,  veiled  and  silent,  retired  for  an  hour's 
rest,  and  so  away  from  the  peering  curiosity  of 
the  assembling  servants.  And  my  lord  paced  the 
common-room,  feverishly  waiting  for  the  coming 
of  the  new  conveyance  which  Janos,  after  one  of  his 
brief  requisitioning  interviews  (pandour  style),  had 
announced  would  be  forthcoming  with  brief  delay. 

The  common-room  was  dank  and  cold  enough, 
but  my  lord's  soul  was  in  warm  consorting :  it  was 
still  exalted  by  the  last  look  that  my  lady  had 
thrown  back  at  him,  raising  her  hood  for  one 
instant  as,  ascending  the  stairs,  she  had  left  him 
for  the  first  separation. 

In  less  than  an  hour  the  tinkling  of  collar-bells 
and  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs,  clattering  with  a 
vigour  of  the  best  augury,  were  heard  approach- 
ing. Even  as  Jdnos  entered  to  confirm  by  word 
the  success  of  his  quest,  my  beloved  appeared 
with  a  readiness  which  to  me  was  sweeter  than 
any  words:  she  too  had  been  watching  the  mo- 
ments which  would  speed  us  onwards  together 
once  more. 

Through  a  pretty  concourse  of  dependants,  all  of 
whom  had  now  got  wind  of  the  rain  of  gratuities 


324  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

with  which  the  great  traveller's  servant  eased  the 
wheels  of  difficulty,  we  entered  our  new  chariot 
I  can  hardly  mind  now  what  sort  of  a  vehicle  this 
was.  I  believe  in  its  days  it  had  been  a  decent 
enough  travelling  chaise :  at  any  rate  it  moved 
fast.  Once  more  we  rolled  through  the  silent 
street,  on  the  hillside  roads,  up  hill  and  down  dale, 
my  bride  warmly  nestled  in  my  arms,  and  both  of 
us  telling  over  again  the  tangled  tale  of  the  year 
that  had  been  wasted  for  us. 

And  thus,  in  the  idle  iteration  of  lovers'  talk, 
with  the  framing  of  plans  for  the  future,  change- 
able and  bright  as  the  clouds  of  a  summer's  day, 
did  we  fill  the  rapid  hours  which  brought  us  to 
Zittau  hi  the  early  morning. 

But  Zittau  was  still  within  the  dominions  of  the 
eloping  Princess's  father ;  and  at  Zittau,  therefore, 
much  the  same  procedure  was  hastily  adopted  as 
at  the  previous  stage :  another  hour  or  so  of  sepa- 
ration, another  chaise  and  fresh  horses,  and  once 
more  a  flight  along  the  mountain  roads,  as  the 
dawn  was  spreading  grey  and  chill  over  the  first 
spurs  of  the  Lusatian  hills. 

This  time  we  spoke  but  little  to  each  other.  The 
fatigue  of  a  great  reaction  was  upon  us.  Anna 
was  already  snoring  in  her  corner,  her  head  com- 
pletely enveloped  in  her  shawl,  when,  as  I  gazed 


The  Pride  of  Jenmco  325 

down  tenderly  at  my  wife's  face,  I  saw  the  sweet 
lids  close  in  the  very  middle  of  a  smile,  and  the 
placidity  of  sleep  fall  upon  her. 

I  have  had,  since  the  Budissin  events,  many 
joys ;  but  there  is  none  the  savour  of  which  dwells 
with  so  subtle,  so  delicate,  a  perfume  in  my  mem- 
ory as  that  of  my  drive  in  the  first  dawn  with  my 
wife  asleep  in  my  arms. 

It  was  not  yet  twelve  hours  since  I  had  found 
her;  and  during  those  twelve  hours  I  had  only 
seen  her  in  the  turmoil  of  emotion,  or  under  stress 
of  anxiety,  or  by  some  flitting  lamplight.  Her 
image  dwelt  in  my  mind  as  I  had  first  beheld  it 
through  the  glass  of  the  palace  window,  lovely 
in  the  first  bloom  of  graceful  womanhood,  stately 
amid  the  natural  surroundings  of  her  rank.  Now, 
wrapped  in  confident  slumber,  swathed  in  her 
great  robes  of  fur,  the  only  thing  visible  of  her 
young  body  being  the  little  head  resting  in  the 
hollow  of  my  arm,  the  fair  skin  flushing  faintly 
in  the  repose  of  sleep,  fresh  even  in  the  searching 
cruelty  of  the  growing  light,  like  the  petal  of  a 
tea  rose,  the  rhythmic  pulse  of  her  bosom  f aintly 
beating  against  my  heart,  she  was  once  more,  for 
a  little  while,  to  me  the  Ottilie  I  had  held  in  my 
castle  at  Tollendhal.  And  as,  for  fear  of  disturb- 
ing her,  I  restrained  my  passionate  longing  to  kiss 


326  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

those  parted  lips,  those  closed  lids  with  the  soft 
long  eyelashes,  I  could  not  tell  which  I  yearned 
for  most:  the  Princess,  the  ripe  woman  I  had 
found  again  ...  or  the  wayward  mistress  play- 
ing at  wife  I  had  schooled  myself  to  banish  in  the 
wasted  days  of  my  overweening  vanity. 

But  why  thus  linger  over  the  first  stage  of  that 
happy  journey  ?  Joy  can  only  be  told  by  contrast 
to  misery.  We  can  explain  sorrow  in  a  hundred 
pages,  but  if  delight  cannot  be  told  in  one,  it  can- 
not be  told  at  all.  It  is  too  elusive  to  be  kept 
within  the  meshes  of  many  words.  Sorrows  we 
forget,  —  by  a  merciful  dispensation,  —  and  it  may 
be  wholesome  to  keep  their  remembrance  in  books. 
Joys  ever  cling  to  the  phials  of  memory  like  a  scent 
which  nought  can  obliterate. 

And  since  I  have  undertaken  to  record  the 
reconquest  of  Jennico's  happiness,  there  remains 
yet  to  tell  the  manner  in  which  it  all  but  found- 
ered in  the  haven.  For  this  heartwhole  ecstasy 
of  mine  could  not  last  in  its  entirety  beyond  a 
few  brief  moments.  As  I  thus  grasped  my  happi- 
ness, with  a  mind  free  at  last  from  the  confusing 
vapours  of  haste  and  excitement,  even  as  the  fair 
world  around  us  emerged  sharp  and  bright  from 
amid  the  shadows  of  dawn,  all  the  precariousness 
of  our  situation  became  likewise  defined.  Between 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  327 

me  and  the  woman  I  loved,  though  now  I  held  her 
locked  in  my  arms,  arose  the  everlasting  menace  of 
separation.  How  long  would  we  be  left  together? 
Where  could  I  fly  with  her  to  keep  her  safe  ?  I 
hoped  that  amid  the  feudal  state  of  my  castle  I 
could  defy  persecution,  but  what  could  such  a  life 
be  at  best  ?  Thus,  in  the  very  first  sweetness  of 
our  reunion,  was  felt  the  bitterness  of  that  hidden 
suspense  that  must  eventually  poison  all. 

Now  as  I  look  back,  nothing  seems  more  dream- 
like than  the  way  in  which  my  boding  thought 
suddenly  assumed  the  reality  of  actual  event. 

"  In  a  little  while  "  (I  was  saying  to  myself,  as 
I  watched  the  shadows  shorten,  and  the  beams  of 
sunlight  grow  broader  upon  the  snow),  "  in  a  little 
while  the  hounds  will  be  started  in  pursuit,  the  old 
persecution  will  be  resumed,  more  devilish  than 
ever."  And  at  the  thought,  against  my  will,  a 
contraction  shook  the  arm  on  which  my  love  was 
resting.  She  stirred  and  awoke,  at  first  bewil- 
dered, then  smiling  at  me.  I  let  down  the  glass 
of  the  coach,  that  the  brisk  morning  air  might 
blow  in  upon  us  and  freshen  our  tired  limbs. 

We  were  then  advancing  but  slowly,  being  mid- 
way up  the  slope  of  a  great  wide  dale ;  the  horses 
toiled  and  steamed.  And  then  as  we  tasted  keenly 
the  vigorous  freshness  of  the  morning  air,  and 


328  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

looked  forth,  speechless,  upon  the  beauty  of  the 
waking  hour  of  nature  —  that  incomparable  hour 
so  few  of  us  wot  of  —  there  came  into  the  great 
silence,  broken  only  by  the  straining  of  harness 
and  the  faint  thud  of  our  horses'  hoofs  in  the 
snow,  another  noise:  a  curious,  faint,  little,  far- 
off  noise  like  to  no  sound  of  nature.  Ottilie 
glanced  at  me,  and  I  saw  the  pupil  of  her  eye 
dilate.  She  uttered  no  word,  neither  did  I.  But, 
all  at  once,  we  knew  that  there  was  some  one 
galloping  behind  us. 

I  thrust  my  head  out.  Jdnos  was  already  on 
the  alert:  standing  with  his  back  to  the  horses, 
leaning  upon  the  top  of  the  coach,  he  was  looking 
earnestly  down  the  valley.  I  can  see  his  face 
still,  all  wrinkled  and  puckered  together  in  the 
effort  of  peering  against  the  first  level  rays  of  the 
sun.  Now,  as  I  leaned  out  also,  and  the  horse's 
gallop  grew  nearer  and  nearer  upon  my  ear,  I 
caught,  as  I  thought,  a  faint  accompaniment  of 
other  hoofs,  still  more  distant  I  looked  at  Janos, 
who  brought  down  his  eyes  to  mine. 

"  But  three  altogether,  my  lord,"  he  said.  And, 
reaching  as  he  spoke  for  his  musketoon,  he  laid 
it  on  top  of  the  coach.  "And,  thank  God,"  he 
added,  "  one  can  see  a  long  way  down  this  slope." 
He  bade  the  driver  draw  up  on  one  side  of  the 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  329 

road,  and  I  was  able  myself  to  look  straight  into 
the  valley. 

A  flying  figure,  that  grew  every  second  larger 
and  blacker  against  the  white  expanse  beneath  us, 
was  rushing  up  towards  us  with  almost  incredible 
swiftness.  In  the  absolute  stillness  of  the  world 
locked  in  snow,  the  rhythm  of  the  hoofs,  the 
squelching  of  the  saddle,  the  laboured  snorting 
of  the  over-driven  horse,  were  already  audible. 
There  were  not  many  seconds  to  spare  —  and 
action  followed  thought  as  prompt  as  flash  and 
sound.  There  was  only  time,  in  fact,  to  place  the 
bewildered  Anna,  just  awakened,  by  my  wife's  side 
at  the  back  of  the  coach,  to  pull  up  the  shutter  of 
both  windows,  and  to  leap  out. 

I  was  hatless.  I  grasped  my  still  sheathed 
sword  in  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  fumbled 
for  my  pistols  in  my  coat  skirts,  whilst  with  a 
thrust  of  my  shoulder  I  clapped  the  coach  door 
to.  There  was  not  time  even  to  exchange  a  word 
with  Ottilie,  but  her  deathly  pallor  struck  me  to 
the  heart  and  fired  me  to  the  most  murderous 
resolve. 

And  now  all  happened  quicker  than  words  can 
follow.  No  sooner  had  I  touched  the  ground, 
than  out  of  space  as  it  were,  roaring  and  reeking, 
hugely  black  against  the  sunshine,  the  horse  and 


33O  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

his  rider  were  upon  me.  I  had  failed  to  draw 
my  pistol,  but  I  had  shaken  the  scabbard  off  my 
sword.  There  seemed  scarce  a  blade's  length 
between  me  and  the  flying  onslaught.  Suddenly, 
however,  the  great  animal  swerved  upon  one 
side,  and  was  pulled  up,  almost  crouching  on  its 
haunches,  by  the  force  of  an  iron  hand.  The 
rider's  face,  outlined  against  the  horse's  steaming 
neck,  bent  towards  me:  Prince  Eugen's  —  great 
indeed  would  have  been  my  surprise  had  it  been 
any  other  —  ensanguined,  distorted  with  fury,  glow- 
ing with  vindictive  triumph,  as  once  before  I  had 
seen  it  thus  thrust  into  mine. 

"Thou  dog,  Jennico  .  .  .  ill-slaughtered  inter- 
loper ...  at  last  I  have  got  thee!  Out  of  my 
way  thou  goest  this  time  !  .  .  ." 

As  it  spat  these  words,  incoherently,  the  red 
face  became  blocked  from  my  view  by  a  fist  out- 
stretched, and  I  found  myself  looking  down  the 
black  mouth  of  a  pistol  barrel.  I  cut  at  it  with 
my  sword,  even  as  the  yellow  flame  leaped  out: 
my  blade  was  shattered  and  flew,  burring,  over- 
head. But  the  ball  passed  me.  At  the  same 
instant  there  came  a  shout  from  above;  the 
Prince  looked  up  and,  quick  as  thought,  wrenched 
at  his  horse ;  the  noble  beast  rose,  beating  the  air 
with  his  forefeet,  just  as  Janos  fired,  over  my  head. 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  331 

For  a  second  all  was  confusion.  The  air  seemed 
full  of  plunging  hoofs  and  blinding  smoke.  Our 
own  horses,  taking  fright,  dragged  the  carriage 
some  yards  away,  where  it  stuck  in  a  snowheap. 
Then  things  became  clear  again.  I  saw,  —  I  know 
not  how,  —  but  all  in  the  same  flash,  I  saw  a  few 
paces  beyond  me,  Janos  now  standing  in  the  road, 
my  wife  in  her  dishevelled  furs  behind  him ;  and 
in  front,  free  from  the  bulk  of  his  dying  horse, 
my  enemy  on  foot,  pistol  in  hand,  and  once  more 
covering  me  with  the  most  determined  delibera- 
tion of  aim.  With  my  bladeless  sword  hilt  hang- 
ing bracelet-like  on  my  sprained  wrist,  defenceless, 
I  stood,  dizzily,  facing  my  doom. 

Then  for  a  third  time  the  air  rang  with  a  shat- 
tering explosion.  The  Prince  flung  both  arms  up, 
and  I  saw  his  great  body  founder  headforemost, 
a  mere  mass  of  clay,  almost  at  my  feet.  I  turned 
again,  and  there  was  my  Janos,  with  the  smoking 
musketoon  still  to  his  cheek,  and  there  also  my 
wife  with  the  face  of  an  avenging  angel,  one  hand 
upon  his  shoulder,  and  the  other,  with  unerring 
gesture  of  command,  still  pointing  at  the  space 
beyond  me  where  but  a  second  before  stood  the 
enemy  who  had  held  my  life  on  the  play  of  his 
forefinger. 


CHAPTER  VII 

FOR  the  space  of  a  few  seconds  we  three  stood 
motionless.  The  awful  stillness  of  the  shadow  of 
death  was  upon  our  souls.  Then,  approaching 
from  the  distance  came  again  to  our  ears  the  sound 
of  hoofs,  the  stumbling  trot  of  a  tired  horse ;  and 
the  quick  wits  of  Janos  were  awakened  to  action. 

"  Into  the  carriage,  my  lady,"  said  he,  "  and  you, 
my  lord !  We  have  loosed  enough  shots  for  one 
day,  and  so  it  is  best  we  should  move  on  again  and 
avoid  these  other  gentlemen." 

He  smiled  as  he  spoke,  a  grim,  triumphant 
smile.  As  for  me,  it  was  certes  nothing  less  than 
triumph  I  felt  in  my  heart.  I  would  have  had 
Prince  Eugen  dead,  indeed,  but  not  so,  not  so ! 

"  Let  us,  at  least,"  I  cried  a  little  wildly,  "  see 
if  he  still  breathes!" 

"  No  need,  my  lord ;  "  and  Janos  caught  me  by 
the  wrist.  "  I  am  not  so  old  yet,"  he  added,  eye- 
ing his  weapon  with  a  delighted  look,  "but  what 
I  can  still  aim  straight.  Did  I  not  know  him  to 
be  as  truly  carrion  now  as  his  good  horse  itself, 
poor  beast,  I  would  surely  enough  despatch  him 

33* 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  333 

as  he  lies  there  biting  the  mud.  But  no  need,  my 
lord.  Right  in  the  heart!  The  man  was  dead 
before  he  touched  the  ground."  And  as  he  spoke 
Janos  dragged  us  towards  the  coach. 

The  driver,  half  risen  from  his  seat,  still  clutch- 
ing one  rein,  seemed  struck  into  an  imbecility  of 
terror ;  the  horses,  now  quieted,  stretching  their 
necks  luxuriously  against  the  loosened  bits,  were 
sniffing  at  the  snow,  as  if  in  the  hope  of  lighting 
upon  a  blade  of  grass.  Anna  sat  on  the  steps, 
her  face  blanched  to  a  sort  of  grey. 

"  Up  with  you  ! "  said  Janos,  and  pushed  her 
with  his  knee.  "Do  you  not  see  your  lady  is 
faint  ? "  The  words  aroused  her,  and  they  roused 
me.  In  truth,  Ottilie  seemed  scarcely  able  to 
sustain  herself;  it  was  time  I  carried  her  away 
from  such  scenes. 

After  closing  the  doors,  Jdnos  handed  me  the 
musketoon  and  the  cartouche-box,  with  the  brief 
remark :  "  His  lordship  had  better  load  again,  the 
while  I  drive,  for  this  coachman  of  ours  is  out  of 
his  wits  with  fright."  And  thus  we  started  once 
more ;  and  in  the  crash  and  rattle  of  the  speed  to 
which  Janos  mercilessly  put  the  horses,  the  stum- 
bling paces  of  the  approaching  pursuers  were  lost 
to  our  hearing.  The  draught  of  air  across  her 
face  revived  Ottilie,  who  now  sat  up  with  courage, 


334  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

and  tried  to  smile  at  me,  though  her  face  was  still 
set  in  a  curious  hardness,  whilst  I,  with  the  best 
ability  of  a  sprained  wrist,  reloaded  and  reprimed. 
Events  (as  I  have  oft  thought  since)  had  proved 
how  happy  a  thought  it  had  been  of  mine  (some 
two  weeks  before,  when  we  made  our  prepara- 
tions to  leave  London,  to  gratify  my  good  Janos's 
desire  for  one  of  those  admirable  double-barrels  I 
had  seen  him  so  appreciatively  and  so  covetously 
handle  at  Fargus  and  Manton's,  in  Soho. 

When  we  reached  the  neck  of  the  valley,  I 
leaned  out  again  and  looked  back.  The  scene 
of  that  crisis  in  my  eventful  life  lay  already  some 
hundred  yards  below  us.  The  second  of  our  pur- 
suers —  a  dragoon  of  Liegnitz,  as  I  now  could  see 
by  his  white  coat,  dirty  yellow  against  the  snow 
—  was  in  the  act  of  dismounting  from  his  ex- 
hausted steed.  I  watched  him  bend  over  the 
prostrate  figure  of  his  chief  for  an  instant  or  two ; 
then  straighten  himself  to  gaze  up  at  our  retreat- 
ing coach ;  then,  with  his  arms  behind  him  and 
his  legs  apart,  in  what,  even  at  that  distance,  I 
could  see  was  an  attitude  of  philosophical  indiffer- 
ence, turn  towards  the  approaching  figure  of  his 
comrade,  who,  some  hundred  yards  further  down, 
now  made  his  appearance  on  the  road,  crawling 
onwards  on  an  obviously  foundered  horse.  It 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  335 

was  evident  that  whatever  admiration  the  Mar- 
grave may  have  commanded  during  his  lifetime, 
his  death  did  not  inspire  his  followers  with  any 
burning  desire  to  avenge  it. 

I  leant  out  further  and  handed  back  the  loaded 
musketoon  to  Janos. 

"  You  may  spare  our  horses  now,"  said  I ; 
"  there  is  no  fear  of  further  pursuit  to-day." 

"Ay,  my  lord,  so  I  see,"  responded  the  hei- 
duck,  with  a  cheerful  jerk  of  the  head  in  our  rear 
"And,  moreover,  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  we  shall 
be  across  the  border." 

****** 

Now  of  our  story  there  is  little  more  to  tell. 
And  well  for  us  that  it  is  so ;  for  one  may,  as  I 
have  said,  chronicle  strange  adventures  and  perils 
of  life  and  limb,  and  one  may  pour  out  on  paper 
the  sorrows  of  an  aching  heart,  the  frenzy  of  de- 
spair ;  but  the  sweet  intimate  details  of  happiness 
must  be  kept  secret  and  sacred,  not  only  from  the 
pen  but  from  the  tongue.  It  will  not,  however, 
come  amiss  that,  to  complete  my  narrative  —  in 
which,  one  day,  if  Heaven  will,  my  children  shall 
learn  the  romance  of  their  parents'  wooing  and 
marriage  —  I  should  set  down  how  it  came  about 
that  the  Margrave  contrived  (to  his  own  undoing) 
to  track  us  so  speedily ;  how,  with  his  death, 


336  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

came  the  dispelling  of  the  shadows  upon  both 
our  lives. 

Shortly  after  our  return  to  Tollendhal,  a  letter 
reached  my  wife  from  the  other  Ottilie.  It  was 
evidently  written  in  the  greatest  distraction  of 
mind,  upon  the  very  morning  after  our  escape 
from  Budissin.  Although  conversation  may  not 
have  been  a  strong  point  with  Madam  Lothner, 
she  seemed  to  wield  a  very  fluent  pen.  She 
took  two  large  sheets  to  inform  us  how,  upon  her 
husband's  return  on  the  previous  night,  his  sus- 
picions being  by  some  unaccountable  means  awak- 
ened, he  had  forced  from  her  the  confession  of  all 
that  had  passed  between  us  in  the  afternoon.  I 
cannot  here  take  up  my  space  and  time  with  the 
record  of  her  excuses,  her  anguish,  her  points  of 
exclamation,  her  appeals  to  Heaven  to  witness  the 
innocence  of  her  intentions.  But  when  I  read  her 
missive  I  understood  Anna's  contemptuous  proph- 
ecy :  "  She  keep  a  secret  ?  the  sheep-head !  "  I 
understood  also  my  wife's  attitude  of  tolerant 
affection,  and  I  blushed  when  I  remembered  the 
time  when,  blinded  by  conceit,  I  had  sought  this 
great  mock-pearl,  when  the  real  jewel  lay  at  my 
hand.  .  .  .  But  to  proceed. 

The  doctor  had  instantly  given  the  alarm  at  the 
palace,  with  the  result  that  the  Princess's  flight 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  337 

was  discovered  within  two  hours  after  it  had  taken 
place.  Now  the  uproar  in  the  Ducal  household 
was,  it  seems,  beyond  description.  Two  detach- 
ments of  dragoons  were  at  once  sent  in  pursuit  of 
the  two  carriages  which  were  known  to  have  left 
the  town  that  night.  (How  we  blessed  Anna's 
shrewder  scheme !)  When  they  returned,  empty- 
handed  of  course,  the  nature  of  the  trick  was  per- 
ceived. Prince  Eugen  —  whose  fury,  it  appears, 
was  something  quite  appalling  to  behold,  not  only 
because  of  the  reassertion  of  the  Princess's  inde- 
pendence, but  because  the  man  whom  he  had 
taken  so  much  trouble  to  obliterate  had  presumed 
to  be  alive  after  all !  —  Prince  Eugen,  according  to 
his  wont,  took  matters  into  his  own  hands.  He 
sallied  forth  with  his  henchman  the  doctor,  to 
make  inquiries  for  himself  in  the  town.  The  re- 
sult of  these  was  the  discovery  of  the  passage  of 
one  Hans  Meyerhofer's  cart  out  by  the  South 
Gate  after  closing  hours.  This  man  was  known  to 
the  doctor  (whose  stables  he  supplied  with  fodder) 
as  being  Anna's  cousin,  and  the  connection  of  the 
Princess's  nurse  with  the  scheme  of  escape  was 
well  demonstrated  by  her  own  disappearance. 
This  discovery  was  sufficient  for  the  Margrave, 
and  (very  much,  it  would  appear,  against  the  real 
wishes  of  the  Duke,  whose  most  earnest  desire 


338  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

was  to  proceed  with  as  little  scandal  as  possible) 
he  with  half  a  dozen  troopers  instantly  set  forth 
in  pursuit  on  the  road  to  Prague.  Of  these  troop- 
ers, as  we  had  seen,  most  had  broken  down  on 
the  way,  and  none  had  been  able  to  keep  up  with 
the  higher  mettled  mount  of  their  leader --'fortu- 
nately for  us. 

It  was  after  his  departure  that  Madam  Lothner 
wrote.  She  was  convinced,  as  she  characteristi- 
cally remarked,  that  the  Prince  would  b«  success- 
ful, and  that  the  most  dire  misfortunes  were  about 
to  fall  upon  everybody — all  through  the  obstinacy 
of  M.  de  Jennico,  who  really  could  not  say  he  had 
not  been  warned.  Nevertheless,  on  the  chance  of 
their  having  escaped,  either  to  England  or  to 
Tollendhal  (and  she  addressed  her  letter  to  Tol- 
lendhal,  trusting  that  it  would  be  forwarded),  she 
could  not  refrain  from  pouring  forth  her  soul  into 
her  beloved  Princess's  bosom  —  and  so  forth  and 
so  on.  In  fact,  the  good  woman  had  wanted  a 
confidant,  and  had  found  it  on  paper. 

Our  next  information  regarding  the  Court  of 
Lausitz  came  from  a  very  different  source,  and 
was  of  a  totally  different  description.  It  was  the 
announcement  in  the  Vienna  News-Sheet  of  the 
death  of  Eugen,  Margrave  of  Liegnitz-Rothen- 
burg,  through  a  fall  from  his  horse  upon  a  hunt- 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  339 

ing  expedition.  It  was  also  stated  that,  yielding 
at  last  to  her  repeated  requests,  the  Duke  had 
consented  to  the  retirement  into  a  convent  of  his 
only  daughter,  Princess  Marie  Ottilie,  such  hav- 
ing been  (it  was  stated)  her  ardent  desire  for  more 
than  a  year.  The  name  of  the  convent  was  not 
given. 

****** 

Here  this  memoir,  begun  in  such  storm  and 
stress,  within  and  without,  continued  in  such  dif- 
ferent moods  and  for  such  varied  motives,  ends 
with  the  mantle  of  peace  upon  us,  with  the  song 
of  birds  in  our  ears. 

Tollendhal,  that  I  knew  beautiful  in  the  autumn ; 
Tollendhal,  the  shrine  of  our  young  foolish  love,  is 
now  beautiful  with  the  budding  green  all  round 
it  under  a  dappled  sky.  But  never  had  the  old 
stronghouse  looked  to  me  so  noble  as  when  I 
brought  my  bride  back  to  it  in  the  snow.  As  the 
carriage  at  last  entered  upon  the  valley  road  and 
we  saw  it  rise  before  us,  high  against  the  sky, 
white-roofed  and  black-walled,  stern,  strong,  and 
frowning,  while  the  winter  sun  flashed  back  a 
warm,  red  welcome  to  the  returning  masters,  from 
some  high  window  here  and  there,  I  felt  my  heart 
stir.  And  as  I  looked  at  Ottilie  I  saw  in  her  eyes 
the  reflection  of  the  same  fire. 


34O  The  Pride  of  Jennico 

Our  people  had  been  prepared  for  our  coming 
by  messengers  from  Prague.  The  court  of  honour 
was  thronged,  and  we  entered  amid  acclamations 
such  as  would  have  satisfied  the  heart  of  a  king 
coming  to  his  own  again.  We  had  broken  the 
bread  and  tasted  the  salt;  we  had  drunk  of  the 
wine  on  the  threshold ;  we  had  been  conducted  in 
state ;  and  at  last,  at  last  we  found  ourselves  alone 
in  the  old  room  where  my  great-uncle's  portrait 
kept  its  silent  watch !  Janos,  who,  his  work  of 
trust  done,  had  fallen  back  into  his  place  of 
heiduck  as  simply  as  the  faithful  blade  falls  back 
into  the  scabbard,  had  retired  to  his  station  outside 
the  door.  Without  rang  the  wild  music  of  the 
gipsies  to  the  feasting  people,  and  the  tremors  of 
the  czimbalom  found  an  answer  in  the  very  fibres 
of  my  soul  —  to  such  music  she  had  first  come  to 
me  in  my  dreams ! 

The  walls  of  the  room  were  all  ruddy  with  the 
reflection  of  the  bonfire  in  the  courtyard :  the 
very  air  was  filled  with  joy  and  colour.  And 
there  was  my  great-uncle's  portrait  —  he  was  sim- 
pering with  ineffable  complacency ;  and  there  the 
rolled-up  parchment;  and  there  the  table  where 
we  had  quarrelled,  and  where,  since  then,  I  had 
poured  forth  such  mad  regrets.  Oh!  my  God! 
what  memories !  .  .  .  and  there  was  my  wife  ! 


The  Pride  of  Jennico  341 

Since  the  events  which  had  first  divided  and 
then  reunited  us  for  ever,  I  had  not  yet  been  able 
to  find  in  the  sweet,  silent,  docile  woman  I  had 
snatched  back  to  my  heart,  the  wilful  Ottilie  of 
old.  Her  spirits  seemed  to  have  been  sobered; 
her  gaiety,  her  petulance,  to  have  been  lost  in 
the  still  current  of  the  almost  fearful  happiness 
bought  at  the  price  of  blood ;  and  at  times,  in 
my  inmost  heart,  I  had  mourned  for  my  lost 
sprite.  But  now,  as  we  stood  together,  she  all 
illumined  with  the  rosy  radiance  from  the  fire, 
she  looked  of  a  sudden  from  the  picture  on  the 
wall  to  me,  and  I  saw  a  spark  of  the  old  mockery 
leap  into  her  eyes. 

"And  so,  sir,"  she  said,  "the  forward  person 
who  married  you  against  your  will  is  mistress  here 
again,  after  all !  ...  but  you  will  always  remem- 
ber, I  trust,  that  it  is  the  privilege  of  a  princess 
to  choose  her  partner."  And  then  she  added, 
coming  a  step  nearer  me :  "  To-morrow  we  must 
fill  in  the  pedigree  again  —  what  say  you,  M.  Jean 
Nigaud  de  la  Faridondaine  ? " 

Now,  as  she  spoke,  her  lips  arched  inte  the 
well-remembered  smile,  and  beside  it  danced  the 
dimple.  And  I  know  not  what  came  upon  me, 
for  there  are  joys  so  subtle  that  they  unman  «ven 
as  sorrows,  but  I  fell  at  her  feet  with  tears. 


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